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The couch is undeniably comfortable, but researchers from Simon Fraser University suggest spending too much time sitting down may just land couch potatoes in an early grave.
After surveying over 100,000 people living in 21 different countries, researchers report that people who spend six to eight hours per day sitting down had a 12 to 13 percent increased risk of both early death and heart disease. Individuals sitting for more than eight hours per day had a 20 percent higher risk.
In collaboration with Beijing’s Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, study authors tracked these individuals for an average of 11 years. Along the way, the team found a clear connection between excessive time spent sitting and heart disease and mortality risk.
While researchers admit that sitting is a health issue across all countries, it is especially problematic in low-income and lower-middle-income nations.
“The overarching message here is to minimize how much you sit,” says study co-author and Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Scott Lear, in a university release. “If you must sit, getting in more exercise during other times of the day will offset that risk.”
The study indicates that risk gradually increases the more often a person sits. The least active individuals who sat the most displayed the highest risk levels — up to 50 percent. Conversely, the most active participants enjoyed the lowest risk profiles (17%).
