Experts Link Prolonged Sitting With Risk of Premature Death

Sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest perpetrators of lifestyle ailments in today's world. With more and more hours spent glued to our workstations, most of us are leading an alarmingly inactive life. The ill effects of prolonged sitting have long been highlighted by experts from all over. While some link it with obesity, others have tied it with risks of developing hypertension, heart ailments and even premature death. The World Health Organisation recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-rigorous level of physical activity for an average adult. Many experts also consider walking at least 10000 steps a day as the benchmark of keeping fit in general. Unfortunately, most of us fail to reach up to that level of fitness and become a feeding ground of a host of ailments.

A recently published study has gone a step further and linked prolonged sitting with the risk of premature death. After examining and studying close to 40 different studies, experts concluded that sitting for long significantly increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and premature death. Although regular exercising is more than recommended too ensure a healthy lifestyle, experts also suggest that regular physical activity cannot do much to offset and undo the damage done by the day-long sitting.
 

"The ill-effects of high levels of sitting may prove to be especially damaging given that so many people sit for long periods," added professor Stuart Biddle from Victoria University in Australia.

The idea is not to make up for the prolonged state of activity by adding a burst of exercise somewhere in the day, the ideal approach is to cut down this state of physical activity by taking regular breaks, doing basic body stretches at your workstation, taking stairs whenever possible and going for a small walk. One should always get up from the seat every 15 minutes to avoid muscles from getting damaged.

Inputs from IANS