Sitting too long 'ups death risk'

Washington, July 23 (ANI): A new study has found that the more time people spent sitting down, the greater their risk of death.

American Cancer Society researcher Alpa Patel says that irrespective of the physical activity you get, the amount of time spent sitting can up death risk.

The study found that more leisure time spent sitting was associated with higher risk of mortality, particularly in women.

Women who reported more than six hours per day of sitting were 37 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat fewer than 3 hours a day.

Men who sat more than 6 hours a day were 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than 3 hours per day.

Associations were stronger for cardiovascular disease mortality than for cancer mortality.

"Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases," said Patel.

The authors conclude that "public health messages and guidelines should be refined to include reducing time spent sitting in addition to promoting physical activity.

The study appears early online in the American Journal of Epidemiology. (ANI)