Study: Excessive sitting linked to risk of heart disease, cancer

KING-TV | Seattle

Show Caption Hide Caption Too much sitting is worse than being obese More than half of the average person's waking hours are spent sitting. A new study shows that sitting time is associated with a higher risk of all causes of mortality, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

More evidence that even if we work out, sitting around the rest of the time puts our health at risk.

"Our study showed that sitting time was associated with a higher risk of all causes of mortality: heart disease mortality, cancer mortality and diabetes — independent of exercise," said David Alter of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, who led the research.

Still, some exercise is better than none.

Researchers found that while prolonged sedentary time was harmful for everyone, the risks were less pronounced in people who participated in higher levels of physical activity. But don't get too smug.

"Just because we exercise a half-hour, an hour a day, does not mean we can sit for the other 23 hours of the day," he warned.

More than half of the average person's waking hours are spent sitting. Study authors say that promoting health messages about reducing sedentary time are as important as promoting physical activity.

"There are simple things we can do. Every half an hour we can stand up for two to three minutes at a time."

Alter advises his patients to start slowly. Try to reduce sitting times by 15 to 20 minutes per day and increase that week to week. Ultimately, he says, you should aim for two to three fewer sedentary hours in your day.

The paper is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.