The participants were asked to provide information on total sitting time, as well as four other specific types of sitting behavior, including the following, courtesy of the release: sitting at work, sitting during leisure time, sitting while watching TV and sitting during leisure time that did not include TV.
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The authors point out that their findings may be due in part to a protective effect of higher than average daily activity in this particular group of people, and also say that policy makers should be cautious about recommending reductions in sitting time as a stand-alone public health intervention.
Sitting for long periods of time at work or at home does not increase the risk of early death, say researchers.
Dr Melvyn Hillsdon, from the University of Exeter, said: “Our study overturns current thinking on the health risks of sitting and indicates that the problem lies in the absence of movement rather than the time spent sitting itself”.
The results of the study were surprising, since they revealed that spending a vast amount of time sitting doesn’t heighten the risk of premature death, and there may be other much more important factors at play instead. Between 1997 and 1999, contributors had been requested what number of hours every week they spent sitting, and particularly what number of hours they spent sitting whereas at work, throughout leisure time, whereas watching tv, and through leisure whereas not watching tv. This was true even after elements reminiscent of age, gender, smoking standing, alcohol use, food plan, and common well being have been taken under consideration.
The NHS advised that “remaining seated for too long is bad for your health, regardless of how much exercise you do”.
The study showed that over the 16 year follow-up period none of these five sitting measures influenced mortality risk.
“We know that breaking up sitting time can be beneficial to your heart health, and we want to encourage people to stay active and keep moving”, she says.
Findings of a new study have raised questions against the sit-stand work stations that are growing increasingly. That is because what matters in fact is the mobility and energy expenditure that individuals display, whether they are sitting or standing.
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The biological mechanisms that underpin previously observed associations between sitting time and health outcomes will also be investigated.
