A recent study has found that prolonged sitting leads to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and death.

 

British scientists reviewed the results of 18 studies with a total of 794,577 participants. They found that prolonged sitting doubles the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death. These results were found to be independent of the amount of exercise people do. This means that even if you exercise regularly, it’s still important to avoid sitting too much during the day.

 

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The scientists reported that the average adult spends 50-70% of their time sitting. Co-author of the study Professor Biddle had some suggestions for reducing sitting time; “There are many ways we can reduce our sitting time, such as breaking up long periods at the computer at work by placing our laptop on a filing cabinet. We can have standing meetings, we can walk during the lunch break, and we can look to reduce TV viewing in the evenings by seeking out less sedentary behaviours.”

 

Professor Biddle also said that it’s not possible to say how much time spent sitting is too long. “As a rule of thumb, if you can break up sitting time by at least five minutes every half hour we think that will benefit you.”

 

 

A great way to take a break from sitting is to stand up and do some stretches. Have a look our Stretches for People Who Sit All Day sheet from the chiropractic website. https://kingswilliam.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Stretches-for-people-who-sit-all-day.pdf