OTTAWA, 18 March. A clinical study that followed nearly 100,000 adults from 21 countries over a period of nearly a decade found that prolonged sitting throughout the day leads to an increased risk of premature death and heart disease.

The combination of sitting for long hours and not being physically active is especially harmful, almost as harmful as smoking, a study from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver warns.

But the good news is that a proportionate increase in physical activity leads to a reduction in the aforementioned risks, said researcher Scott Lear, Simon Fraser Professor, quoted by Cbsnews. “People are designed to move and suffer if we don’t,” said Harlan Krumholz, an expert at the Yale School of Medicine.

The study found that sitting for 8 or more hours a day caused a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease or death from any relative cause compared to those who sat for only half that time.

Prolonged sitting is also 49% more likely to lead to heart failure. Krumholtz noted that the link between sitting, premature death or heart disease is very likely, and the solution lies in more physical activity.

The study involved 105,677 people around the age of 35 and found that prolonged sitting also causes bulging lumbar discs, back protrusion and possibly herniation. Experts recommend getting up and taking a short walk every 40 minutes or so.

Source: Juventud Rebelde