Are you worried about sitting in your office cubicle or in classes for a long period of time on a daily basis? A new research sheds light on previous studies that reiterate that sitting for a long time have higher risk of early death, even for people who are otherwise healthy.
The University of Exeter in the United Kingdom has a study and examined 3,720 men and 1,412 women who didn't have heart disease and were part of a long-term U.K. health study. During the late 1990's, the participants gave information about how long they spent sitting every week, whether they were at work, during leisure time, or watching TV. This pattern has been observed for 16 years to see what would happen. The team of researchers didn't find any evidence that sitting for a long time whether at work or at home increases the risk of dying.
According to WebMD.com, the study is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. The team said their findings challenge previous researches suggesting that sitting has a harmful effect on people even when they constantly walk or do a lot of exercise.
Previous studies have linked too much sitting with being overweight or being obese, people with diabetes and some types of cancer which causes early death. They said that prolonged sitting can slow the metabolism which affects the body's ability to break down sugar which can cause high blood pressure.
Researcher Melvyn Hillsdon, from the University of Exeter said that their study nullify the usual concept that sitting for long periods carry a health risks. Thus, it indicates that the problem is in the absence of movement rather than the time spent sitting itself, the results gave doubts on the benefits of sit-stand in work stations, which employers promote for a healthy working environment.
More research is needed on this kind of inactive behavior and how it really affects our health. Emily Reeve, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said that they want to encourage people to break away sitting and stay active with their lifestyle since these can be both beneficial to our overall health.