Sitting on one’s butt for a major part of the day may be deadly in the long run — even with a regimen of daily exercise, researchers say.
In an analysis that pooled data from 41 international studies, Toronto researchers found the amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and death, regardless of regular exercise.
“More than one half of an average person’s day is spent being sedentary — sitting, watching television or working at a computer,” said Dr. David Alter, a senior scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, who helmed the analysis.
“Our study finds that despite the health-enhancing benefits of physical activity, this alone may not be enough to reduce the risk for disease.”
The paper, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that prolonged sedentary behaviour was associated with a 15 to 20 per cent higher risk of death from any cause; a 15 to 20 per cent higher risk of heart disease, death from heart disease, cancer, death from cancer; and as much as a […]
I retired from a management postion last March which I held for over 30 years. One of the things that really bothered me prior to that time was that I was in front of the computer more and more each day which was different from prior years. Previously I was able to walk about a very large plant site to deal with daily and future problems. That didn’t help my body at all. There was only so much I could do to keep fit. Diet and sleep weren’t aweful, but the lack of exercise and walking was really taking its toll. Since retirement, I am often walking 5 to 10 miles a day with my little dog. He is high energy and this helps a lot. I notice the following great benefits from this: better leg circulation, limber joints, weight loss, better breathing ( I deep breathe a lot while walking taking in good fresh air which also helps my singing voice). At night I notice that my joints rest and stay limber often “popping” in a good way. If I wake briefly in the night, I stretch while in bed. Energy levels have increased dramatically. I am now going into “semi retirement” going back to do on site trouble shooting for an engineering firm which will keep me more on my feet while still sitting in front of a computer some. Perfect job for me. Smartest thing I did was retire from a job that was restricting my mobility, and join a company that really knows the meaning of utilizing retirees. A healthy happy company with happy people. It’s one big health package. But the walking has given me great results in just a few short months and I love it.