New Study: Sitting too long can kill you sooner, despite exercise

For those of us holding office jobs, sitting down at our desk between 9 to 5 is pretty much sums up our daily routine. However, a recent study on the fatal effects of sitting down for long periods may you might want to rethink this sedentary habit.

According to the study, there is a direct relationship between the time spent sitting and your risk of mortality of any cause. Which means as your total sitting time increases, so does your risk of an early death.

The Study

This research, published last week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, studied nearly 8,000 adults aged 45 or older for an average of four years with hip-mounted accelerometers to monitor their sedentary time. It examined ‘sedentary behaviour’ on two levels: total sedentary time and sitting stretch duration a day.

The study found that the participants’ risk of death grew in tandem with both the total sitting time and sitting stretch duration – no matter their age, gender, race, BMI – and even exercise habits.

For instance, those who sat for more than 13 hours a day had a 200% greater risk of death compared to those who sat for less than 11 hours per day. On the other hand, those who frequently sat in stretches less than 30 minutes had a 55% lower risk of death compared to participants who typically sat for more than 30 minutes at a stretch.

The positive news? People who sat for less than 30 minutes at a time had the lowest risk of an early death.

Tip: Get Moving Every 30 Minutes

The underlying reasons how sedentary behaviour impacts our health so adversely still remains “unclear and complex”. Arguably, the research’s most crucial finding was surfacing that excessive sitting is indeed bad – and far worse if it is accumulated through lengthy, uninterrupted bouts of sedentary behaviour throughout the day.

Concerned? If you have a desk job, researchers recommend moving every 30 minutes. If you’re considering getting a standing desk instead, scientists are on the fence whether they are a healthier alternative to sitting, due to limited existing evidence. So if you find yourself sitting for prolonged periods, the best suggestion is still to take a movement break every half hour.

Sarah Khan

Photo: Getty Images

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