Sitting For More Than 3 Hours A Day Increases Mortality Risk

The American Cancer Society has released a study which shows that not only does decreased physical activity increase the risk of death, but this risk is also affected by the amount of time which is spent sitting. This length of sitting time was independently associated with a person's total mortality regardless of their physical activity level. The public health guidelines focus on giving information regarding increasing physical activity, but don't seem to offer information regarding decreasing sitting time.

The research

The researchers conducted the study by analyzing survey responses by people who were not known to suffer from diseases such as heart attacks, cancer, stroke or any chronic lung diseases. The study was done using information collected between 1993 and 2006. The following important findings were noted:

• The results showed that leisure time which was spent sitting was associated with an increased mortality rate especially in women.
• Women who reported that they would spend more than 6 hours sitting every day were 37% more likely to die, during the time period of the study, than women who spent fewer than 3 hours sitting per day.
• It was also discovered that men who sat for more than 6 hours a day were 18% more likely to die, in the study period, than those who spent less than 3 hours sitting per day.
• It's important to note that these results remained unchanged when physical activity levels were factored into the findings.
• There was a greater association of prolonged sitting time with cardiovascular disease mortality than cancer mortality. The association was even stronger when there was a lack of physical ability in the respondents.
• In the worst case scenario it was reported that men and women who sat more and were less physically active were 48% and 94% more likely, respectively, to die in the study period as compared to those men and women who sat the least and were the most physically active.

The reason behind these findings could be that prolonged sitting, despite the person's activity level, results in important metabolic consequences. This can have a negative effect on cholesterol, triglyceride levels, high density lipoproteins (HDL), fasting glucose levels, leptin and resting blood pressures in a person.

READ Sitting Is Killing You - What You Can Do About It?

Ways To Increase Physical Activity

The human body burns energy even when not performing any activities. This is known as the BMR (basal metabolic rate), where the body requires energy to perform physiological activities such as breathing, circulatory support, oxygen exchange between tissues and organs, etc.

Any physical activity increases the body’s metabolism so everyday activities do count as exercise. Research has shown that both short and long periods of high intensity physical activity, less than and more than 10 minutes of physical exertion, respectively, in people between 18-64 years of age has shown to lower the BMI (body mass index) as well as lower the risk of obesity. This then means that both short and long bouts of high intensity training are equally beneficial to the human body.

According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the recommended exercise guidelines state that two and a half hours of cardiovascular/aerobic activity should be done every week together with muscle strengthening activities on two or more days when exercising. The combination of both aerobic and muscle strengthening exercises has been proven to be more beneficial than either one performed alone. It's important to remember that physical activities need to be started at one's own pace and then gradually increased according to what the person can handle.

Further research has shown that everyday activities whereby one is physically active count towards these guidelines and therefore have a positive effect on one’s health.

Everyday activities

Walking around – Whether you are taking a walk around the neighbourhood, in the mall or even to work and back, this activity helps to burn around 150 calories every half an hour. Try using the stairs, instead of the elevators and escalators, as this now becomes resistance training due to the fact that you are now working against gravity. This helps to increase the physical effort on your body and therefore burn even more calories.

Cleaning the house – Sweeping or vacuuming the rooms, mopping the floors and doing the laundry all increase the body’s metabolism because of the physical exertion associated with them. Carrying a full load of laundry in front of the body also increases muscle exertion which then helps to build muscle mass as well. These activities all increase cardiovascular output which allows the heart and lungs to function better, thereby improving oxygen transport to the rest of the body. These activities can also aid in burning off 150 calories every hour.

Kitchen duties – Mixing batter by hand, chopping up vegetables and cleaning the dishes can all help to use up around 75 calories.

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Working in the garden – Raking up leaves, mowing the lawn and sowing plants all require muscular output by the body. Once again, these activities improve cardiovascular functioning, but to a better degree than working inside the house, as you are now exposed to fresh air and easier intake of oxygen. These activities can help burn over 180 calories every half an hour. Washing the car is just as intense as working in the garden and is also a good way to be physically active.