You might want to be sitting down for this one. On second thought, better not.
Spearheaded by Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Scott Lear, a new study in the journal Jama Cardiology has further linked prolonged sitting to health risks including cardiovascular disease.
This has become a rising issue as the healthiness of Canadian diets decreases as obesity rates are increasing, according to an IBISWorld statistic.
The global study, co-authored by Wei Li of Beijing’s Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, polled 105,677 people in 21 countries. Essentially, the study found that people who sit for 6 to 8 hours increased the risk for early death and heart issues by 12 to 13 per cent. Those who sat longer had a higher percentage
The study also showed the correlation was greater in lower-income countries causing some to speculate socio-economic status and better jobs to be direct factors.
Ultimately, researchers found a combination of sitting and inactivity accounted for 8.8 per cent of all deaths, a number not too far from smoking contribution of 10.6 per cent.
For Lear, it’s all about adding more exercise while minimizing prolonged sitting.
“For those sitting more than four hours a day, replacing a half hour of sitting with exercise reduced the risk by two per cent.”
The solution was to educate, as clinicians say the counter to this problem is both life-changing, and low cost. However it wasn’t only on the health experts to get the message out. Individuals have to assess their health and lifestyle as well.
“It’s a global problem that has a remarkably simple fix. Scheduling time to get out of that chair is a great start,” Lear said.
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