Too much sitting

Too Much Sitting Increases Mortality Risk Despite ExerciseAnn Intern Med. 2015;162:123-132, 146-147.Jenni Laidman. January 20, 2015

Prolonged sitting was associated with higher mortality from all causes, as well as increased incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes, even among people who exercise regularly, according to a meta-analysis published in the January 20 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

However, the analysis of 47 previously published articles also shows that the association between all-cause mortality and sedentary behavior is greatest among people who exercise the least.

Aviroop Biswas, BSc, from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues analyzed 14 studies on cardiovascular disease and diabetes, 14 studies on cancer, and 13 studies on all-cause mortality, all but three of which were prospective cohort designs. All but one of the studies used participant self-reporting to track sedentary time.

Sedentary lifestyle was linked to a hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality of 1.240 in the meta-analysis (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.090 - 1.410). Further, sedentary behavior was associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease mortality (HR, 1.179; 95% CI, 1.106 - 1.257), cardiovascular disease incidence (HR, 1.143; 95% CI, 1.002 - 1.729), cancer mortality (HR, 1.173; 95% CI, 1.108 - 1.242), cancer incidence (HR, 1.130; 95% CI, 1.053 - 1.213), and type 2 diabetes incidence (HR, 1.910; 95% CI, 1.642 - 2.222)./.../