Better stand up to read this: Sitting down for too long could kill you | Mail Online

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By Jenny Hope PUBLISHED: 01:50 GMT, 27 March 2012 | UPDATED: 06:51 GMT, 27 March 2012

Stand up if you want to live longer, researchers have warned. A major study from Australia found sitting down too long increases your risk of dying within three years, even if you are already physically active. The study of 222,000 people suggests too much sitting - as opposed to insufficient activity - may be a new risk factor for premature death.

Best foot forward: Staying upright can prolong your life, according to experts (Posed by models)

It found adults who sat 11 or more hours per day had a 40 per cent increased risk of dying in the next three years compared with those whosat for fewer than four hours a day. This risk remained after taking into account their physical activity, weight and general health. People sitting for between eight and 11 hours a day had a 15 per cent increase in the risk of dying compared with those seated for fewer than four hours a day. The findings were published in the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine (must credit). Lead author Dr Hidde van der Ploeg, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydneys School of Public Health, said These results have important public health implications. That morning walk or trip to the gym is still necessary, but its also important to avoid prolonged sitting. Our results suggest the time people spend sitting at home, work and in traffic should be reduced by standing or walking more. The results are the first landmark findings to be published from the Sax Institutes 45 and Up Study, the largest ongoing study of healthy ageing in the Southern Hemisphere.

Predominant position: Many people can spend the majority of the day sitting down (Posed by model)

They showed physical activity is still beneficial: inactive people who sat the most had double the risk of dying within three years than the active people who sat least. Among the physically inactive group, those who sat the most had nearly one-third higher chance of dying than those who sat least. Altogether there were 5,400 deaths in the three year period of follow-up, with seven per cent of the deaths attributed to sitting. There has been growing interest in the downsides of prolonged sitting, which is a marker for a sedentary lifestyle. Previous research found people who watch six hours of TV a day cut short their lifespan by five years compared with someone who watches no TV. People who sit for longer have bigger waist sizes, and higher levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and triglycerides.

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Better stand up to read this: Sitting down for too long could kill you | Mail Online

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120877/Better-stand-read-Sitting-long-kill-you.html?printin...

The average adult spends 90 per cent of their leisure time sitting down and less than half of adults meet World Health Organization physical activity recommendations. In the UK, adults are urged to do 150 minutes of activity a week to promote health. In an accompanying editorial, co-author David Dunstan of the physical activity laboratory, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, said individuals are exhorted to do 30 minutes of brisk walking a day to stave off chronic disease. But this still leaves 15 and a half hours of non-exercise awake time each day during which, for many adults, sitting is the predominant stance. To put this in perspective, 30 minutes of physical activity is as protective an exposure as 10 hours of sitting is a harmful one. He said the evidence was strong enough to support doctors prescribing reduced daily sitting time to their patients. The research was commissioned by the Cardiovascular Research Network and supported by the NSW Division of the National Heart Foundation Australia. Heart Foundation NSW CEO Tony Thirlwell said being inactive was a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. He said Watching TV, using computers and electronic games can involve sitting for long periods and have become a big part of leisure time. But we know that people who spend less time on these things have better health than those who spend too much time on them. A major five-year follow-up of 45 and Up study participants has just begun and will ask 265,000 men and women more about their health, lifestyle, and the medications and health services they use.

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Comments (16)
Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all Does anyone else see the utter nonsense in this? Die of WHAT exactly??? And only "in the next 3 years"!! This is just ridiculous and an obvious sign of people who haven't got a clue about what statistics do and don't mean. You can't just say that sitting too long will dramatically increase the chance that you will die in the next 3 years.. Where is the logic, where is the information missing from the middle of the equation? For such a major study, it seems very amateurish! This has both amused me and disturbed me to think about all the money that was wasted on this study so that they could come out and say such a stupid thing! - Damien, Waterford Ireland, 27/3/2012 22:39 Click to rate Report abuse Good, the ones in parliment wont be long then..Yippeeeeeeeeeeeee - jan, still in the uk, 27/3/2012 20:31 Click to rate Report abuse i SUPPOSE IT'S NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT AS ONE AGES, ONE SITS FOR LONGER AS ENERGY DIMINISHES. AND BECAUSE ONE IS OLDER ONE IS NEARER THE GRAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE. - carol, Nottinghamshire, 27/3/2012 15:49 Click to rate Report abuse Right, I'm standing up to type this then! :-) - Jimmy Jameson, Lancashire, 27/3/2012 15:20 Click to rate Report abuse Unfortunately most office workers don't have much option. - peejay, Helston Cornwall, 27/3/2012 14:54 Click to rate Report abuse Ive never laughed so much for a long time thank you to the "At Home,By the PC" person. Also Linda in Toronto is right. I have worked in an office environment for 50 years, my hands are nearly useless, hips, knees, legs ankles, you name it, it hurts, even though I used to get up and walk about, it still does damage when you sit a long time, but hey, how have I lived this long though if you die within 3 years of sitting down a lot.... ???? - shelagh, Oxford, 27/3/2012 14:01 Rating 26 Rating 6 Rating 13 Rating 24 Rating 8

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8/06/2012 11:24 PM

Better stand up to read this: Sitting down for too long could kill you | Mail Online

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What a load of twaddle. So, according to these so-called researchers, it would mean that there would be no disabled wheelchair users, they should all be dead within 3 years. Next thing you will be getting flat feet for standing up too long. - BP, Mitcham, 27/3/2012 12:32 Click to rate Report abuse Is that so? What about people in wheelchairs? They can hardly stand so does that mean they're all going to die? Just more scaremongering. - Someone, Somewhere, 27/3/2012 12:29 Click to rate Report abuse UK rail commuters should live forever then! - geraint, Gloucester UK, 27/3/2012 11:35 Click to rate Report abuse Can you lie down instead? - Jim, London, 27/3/2012 09:17 Click to rate Report abuse The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Rating 77 Rating 60 Rating 24 Rating 26

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