Warning - Sitting can be dangerous for your health!
By combining the outcome data from 18 different studies which involved 794,577 people, Loughborough University have found that sitting down for long period’s increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death.
People sitting for long periods have a two fold increase in their risk of diabetes, heart disease and death. Importantly, associations were independent of the amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity undertaken, suggesting that even if an individual meets typical physical activity guidelines, their health may still be compromised if they sit for long periods of time throughout the day.
According to the study published in Diabetologia, the average adult spends 50-70% of their time sitting so the findings have far reaching implications. By simply limiting the time that we spend sitting, we may be able to reduce our risk of diabetes, heart disease and death. Also, the most consistent associations were between sitting and diabetes.
Professor Stuart Biddle, of Loughborough University, and a co-investigator on the study, said: “There are many ways we can reduce our sitting time, such as breaking up long periods at the computer at work by placing our laptop on a filing cabinet. We can have standing meetings, we can walk during the lunch break, and we can look to reduce TV viewing in the evenings by seeking out less sedentary behaviours.”
Professor Melanie Davies, says: “This paper has a very important message for the public but also for health care professionals - namely that being sedentary is common and dangerous for our long term health, particularly for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and that this link appears to be over and above other lifestyle factors such as our diet and physical activity.”
