Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Published : October 14, 2015 11:29 AM IST
If you are in a desk job or a couch potato, you probably must have been scared with all the recent news about how prolonged sitting adversely affects your body. Various studies have tried to establish that sitting for a long time increases your risk of heart disease, it can give you diabetes, affects your spine, makes yo fat etc. But this news is a huge relief to most of you. Researchers at the University of Exeter and University College, London say that there is no harm in sitting down for a long time. The study analysed 5000 participants over 16 years that makes it the longest follow-up study in this area of research. The study found that sitting for long either at the office or at home is not associated with an increased risk of dying. (Read: Fidgeting or a 10-minute walk What beats the effects of prolonged sitting?)
Various previous studies have tried to establish the link between prolonged sitting and an increased risk of heart disease and obesity and other lifestyle diseases. A few other studies also suggest that taking a 10-minute walk every hour can reverse the effects of prolonged sitting. A study had also claimed that the act of sitting itself is detrimental even if people take a walk every few hours or have an otherwise active life. This study challenges these claims and also contradicts NHS recommendations which state that remaining seated for too long is bad for your health, regardless of how much exercise you do. Researchers believe that prolonged sitting is not the problem, absence of movement is. Researcher Melvyn Hillsdon said that policy makers should be cautious in recommending a reduction in the time spent sitting without also promoting increased physical activity. (Read: Reverse the effects of prolonged sitting with these tips)
He further says that any stationary position where energy expenditure is low is detrimental to health be it sitting or standing. The findings of the study challenge the changing trend of using sit-stand desks at work to promote a healthy environment. Lead author Richard Pulsford added that the findings suggest that reducing sitting time might not be quite as important for mortality risk as previously publicised and that encouraging people to be more active should still be a public health priority. The study is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. (Read: Sitting at your desk continuously can make you sad or even depressed)
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