Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Sitting Time Associated with Increased Risk of Chronic Diseases
The more you sit, the higher your risk of chronic diseases.
Kansas State University researcher Richard Rosenkranz, assistant professor of human nutrition, examined the associations of sitting time and chronic diseases in middle-aged Australian males in a study that is published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Collaborators include University of Western Sydney researchers Emma George and Gregory Kolt.
The study’s sample included 63,048 males ages 45-65 from the Australian state of New South Wales. Study participants reported the presence or absence of various chronic diseases, along with their daily sitting time: categorized as less than four hours, four to six hours, six to eight hours, or more than eight hours.
Compared with those who reported sitting four hours or less per day, those who sat for more than four hours per day were significantly more likely to report having a chronic disease such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. The reporting of chronic diseases rose as participants indicated they sat more. Those sitting for at least six hours were significantly more likely to report having diabetes.
“We saw a steady stair-step increase in risk of chronic diseases the more participants sat,” Rosenkranz said. “The group sitting more than eight hours clearly had the highest risk.”
The study is relevant to office workers sitting at desks and those sitting for long periods of time such as truck drivers, he said.
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