Health Japanese study links excessive sitting to higher mortality

[thomas]

We all know that sitting long hours in front of the PC isn't exactly healthy. A Japanese study now focuses on why sitting too much harms our health: our leg muscles, the largest in the body, do not move. Sitting slows metabolism and decreases blood flow, which increases blood sugar and neutral fat levels, factors in various diseases. It also affects our blood pressure. According to Koichiro Oka, a professor at Waseda University, it is now clear that excessive sitting is closely linked to mortality.

Japanese people, in particular, are at high risk. According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey, 38% of men and 33% of women report a total sitting time of "8 hours or more" per weekday. This is the highest percentage compared internationally.

An Australian research group followed 220,000 people aged 45 and older for about three years and found that the mortality rate for those who sat for an average of 11 hours or more per day was 1.4 times higher than for those who sat for less than 4 hours per day. According to the analysis, which synthesized 34 studies from around the world that examined the relationship between sitting time and mortality, the threshold for increased risk is roughly around 8 hours. The studies also revealed that sitting time associates with the development of obesity and diabetes, death from cancer or pulmonary thromboembolism, and even cognitive decline.

However, Oka explained that sitting is not all that bad. The point is to 'break:' "We need to interrupt our sitting frequently, as prolonged sitting produces minimal muscle contraction in the limbs." In the various studies, mortality rates differed between those who sat continuously and those who did not, even though the total duration of sitting was the same. He recommended "standing and moving a little for about three minutes every thirty minutes, or at least five minutes every hour." It can be a foot stomp, a light squat or a standing heel lift. He added that exercising a lot at the gym on the weekends is better than not doing it, but the key to reducing the adverse effects of too much sitting is frequency rather than intensity.

Excessive sitting linked to death: Japan prof. - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- You may have heard that too much sitting is bad for you, but to what extent is it really harmful to our health, and how can we counter the pr

mainichi.jp

 

[mdchachi]

Some people at my office have standing desks but that doesn't really appeal to me.