Sedentary behaviors can contribute to an increased risk of death, but by just how much? A new study that aimed to answer that question is reporting that sitting more than three hours per day leads to about 433,000 deaths.
For this study, the researchers looked at results from behavioral surveys that were conducted on adults from 54 countries between 2002 and 2011. With this data - combined with each country's statistics on population, life table and overall death rates - the researchers found that 3.8 percent of all deaths could be attributed to sitting too much. Sitting appeared to have a greater effect on death rates in people from the Western Pacific region.
The researchers added, however, that reductions in sitting, even if they are minor, can have a positive impact.
"It was observed that even modest reductions, such as a 10 percent reduction in the mean sitting time or a 30-minute absolute decrease of sitting time per day, could have an instant impact in all-cause mortality in the 54 evaluated countries, whereas bolder changes [for instance, 50 percent decrease or two hours fewer] would represent at least three times fewer deaths versus the 10 percent or 30-minute reduction scenarios," said lead investigator Leandro Rezende of the Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine.
They had calculated the potential effects of reduced sitting without factoring in moderate to vigorous exercise levels.
The researchers hope that their findings encourage people to be more conscious about their sedentary habits. Although it might be hard to avoid sitting in some situations, such as at work, finding ways to incorporate more activity can really help lower death rates. They also stressed that physical activity and reduced sitting need to be promoted on a global scale as a preventive measure for premature mortality.
"Although sitting time represents a smaller impact compared with other risk factors, reducing sitting time might be an important aspect for active lifestyle promotion, especially among people with lower physical activity levels," Rezende added. "In other words, reducing sitting time would help people increase their volumes of physical activity along the continuum to higher physical activity levels."
Rezende concluded: "The present findings support the importance of promoting active lifestyles (more physical activity and less sitting) as an important aspect for premature mortality prevention worldwide and, therefore, the need for global action to reduce this risk factor."
The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
