Your body's big enemy? You’re sitting on it - Health - Fitness - NBCNews.com. Sitting too much may double your risk of dying, study shows - HealthPop. Young business woman sitting on chair with a briefcase at the office lounge iStockphoto (CBS News) Need a health boost?
You might want to start with getting up from your couch or computer desk. PICTURES: 20 most sedentary cities in America According to a study in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers discovered that people who sat for 11 hours a day or more were 40 percent more likely to die - from any cause. The researchers also found the odds of dying were 15 percent higher for those who sit between eight to 11 hours a day compared to those who sit less than four hours a day.
Researchers relied on self-reported data from 22,497 individuals 45 years or older from the 45 and Up study, the largest look at aging in the Southern Hemisphere. "The evidence on the detrimental health effects of prolonged sitting has been building over the last few years," study author Hidde van der Ploeg, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney, told HealthDay. Stand against sitting disease: Expert offers ideas for moving more.
You probably won't find it in medical dictionaries, but a problem that has come to be known as sitting disease is rampant in the USA.
The term captures how many people are glued to their seats for hours at the office, in their cars and in front of the TV. Government statistics suggest that almost half of us report sitting more than six hours a day; 65% say they spend more than two hours a day watching TV. But it's taking a toll on health. A recent study showed that if people spent less than three hours a day sitting, it would add two years to the average U.S. life expectancy. Get Up, Stand Up, For Your Life: Can Standing Desks Fight Sitting Disease? SBRN. Sitting too long could cause cancer. More than 90,000 new cancer cases a year in the United States may be due to physical inactivity and prolonged periods of sitting, a new analysis shows.
The analysis, being presented today at the annual conference of the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in Washington, D.C., cites about 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 of colon cancer. "This gives us some idea of the cancers we could prevent by getting people to be more active," says epidemiologist Christine Friedenreich of Alberta Health Services in Calgary, Canada. Calculations are based on U.S. physical activity data and cancer incidence statistics. "This is a conservative estimate," she says. "The more physical activity you do, the lower your risk of these cancers.
" Alpa Patel, an American Cancer Society epidemiologist who looked at the data, says the numbers "seem like very reasonable estimates. " Sitting All Day Is Worse For You Than You Might Think. Video: A Crash Course In Beating The Cubicle Trap Yes, exercise is good for you.
This we know. Heaps of evidence point to the countless benefits of regular physical activity. Federal health officials recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, like brisk walking, every day. Health: Staying Active. Do you lead an active lifestyle or a sedentary one?
The question is simple, but the answer may not be as obvious as you think. Let's say, for example, you're a busy guy who works 60 hours a week at a desk job but who still manages to find time for five 45-minute bouts of exercise. Most experts would label you as active. But Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., has another name for you: couch potato. Rise Up Against Sitting Disease: 22 Healthy Ways to Move More.
22 easy ways to add healthy movement to your everyday routine. © Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Thinkstock If you’re plopped on a bed, couch, or chair right now, you might have what is arguably the most common health problem in America today—sitting disease.
That might sound silly. But prolonged, morning-to-bedtime sitting—doctors call it sedentary living—has been shown by researchers to play a significant role in many of the most troublesome health issues of our time, from obesity and heart disease to diabetes to depression. Think about the typical American day. Get Up and Move Until recently, experts considered the antidote to sitting disease to be formal exercise sessions. This new thinking is important. To get you started, here are 22 ways to move more during your day. 4 Everyday Habits 1. 2. 3. 4. 6 Ideas for Around Your Home 1.
The Most Dangerous Thing You'll Do All Day. The Danger of Sitting Still - The Juggle. Prolonged bouts of sitting increase cancer risk. As I listened to experts at the American Institute for Cancer Research annual conference in Washington, D.C., last week, it became clear I do something that may actually increase my risk of cancer. During my work days counselling clients in my private practice, I sit at my desk for eight hours a day. If I do enough prolonged sitting each day, researchers tell me my four weekly gym workouts may not be enough to offset the potential health hazards of sitting for hours on end.
Too much sitting tied to markers of cancer risk According to the research presented, sedentary behaviour – meaning too much sitting rather than just getting too little exercise – is emerging as a new risk factor for cancer. And it seems the longer you sit, the higher your risk irrespective of how much you weigh or how much exercise you do. So far studies have tied sedentary behaviour to a greater risk of ovarian, endometrial and colorectal cancers. Soy foods considered safe for breast-cancer survivors. Inactivity Is Harmful, Even With Trips to the Gym. Sean Marc Lee/Getty Images Many of us sit in front of a computer for eight hours a day, and then go home and head for the couch to surf the Web or watch television, exchanging one seat and screen for another.
Even if we try to squeeze in an hour at the gym, is it enough to counteract all that motionless sitting? Is Sitting a Lethal Activity? The Men Who Stare at Screens. David De Lossy/Getty Images In 1982, researchers affiliated with the Cooper Institute in Dallas surveyed a large group of well-educated, affluent men.
The researchers were interested in the men’s exercise habits, but they also asked, almost incidentally, about their indolence. Sitting: 6 New Reasons It's Bad For Your Health. Consensus is not always an easy thing to come by in the health and wellness worlds, but if there's one topic that inspires seemingly little debate, it is sitting.
As in, on your duff. And how it's not great for us, health-wise. Which is why after a year of robust research on the potential health consequences of sitting too much, we've compiled a list of the latest and greatest reasons why the chair -- at least when inhabited for long periods of time -- may not be your friend. Of course, we understand that for many, ditching that seated pose is not an option. (Really. Better yet? Loading Slideshow.