Sitting for Long Hours Can Kill, says Study

People, who used to sit for 11 or more hours a day, are 40 percent more likely to die over the next three years regardless of how physically active they are otherwise, a new study suggests.

Australian researchers from the Sydney University analysed self reported data of roughly 222,000 people aged 45 and older and found that death risks arise after 11 hours of total daily sitting. It could cause weight gain and worsen the health condition. 

“These results have important public health implications, Inactive participants who sat the most had double the risk of dying within three years compared to active people who sat least” said study lead author Dr. Hidde van der Ploeg, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health.

The findings of the study were published in the ‘Archives of Internal Medicine’.

While the study exposed a link between total sitting hours and death risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship, said the experts.

Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association pointed towards the solution of this concern.

She explained that a large section of the people used to sit for long hours to meet their job demand which cannot be avoided. Hence, one should try to spend the rest of the hours of the day standing, walking or engaging in other movement.

The research was commissioned by the Cardiovascular Research Network and supported by the National Heart Foundation Australia's NSW Division.

Moving one step forward, Heart Foundation CEO Tony Thirlwell said that being inactive was a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is responsible for over 17 million deaths a year worldwide.