Office workers are more likely to suffer heart attacks and strokes, according to another study.
For decades, doctors have warned about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and its impact on organs such as our heart.
New research, which has been tracking 100,000 adults for more than a decade, has sparked new calls for Britons clinging to their desks to get up and move.
Chinese experts found that people who sit eight hours a day, the equivalent of a 9 to 5 office worker skipping lunch, were 20% more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke.
They were also 49 percent more likely to have heart failure, compared to those who only sat for half that time.
The researchers said that reducing sitting time and increasing physical activity could bring benefits similar to reducing smoking rates.
Charities urged workers to take regular breaks to exercise and go to work on foot, and asked employers to provide standing tables.
The study suggests that people who sit for more than eight hours a day are 20% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to those who sat for four to eight hours.
HOW MUCH EXERCISE DO YOU NEED
To stay healthy, adults between the ages of 19 and 64 should try to be active on a daily basis and should:
- at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or brisk walking each week and
- strength exercises 2 or more days a week that work all the main muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
O:
- 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity such as running or an individual tennis match each week and
- strength exercises 2 or more days a week that work all the main muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
O:
- a mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity each week; for example, 2 x 30 minutes of running plus 30 minutes of brisk walking equals 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and
- strength exercises 2 or more days a week that work all the main muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
A good rule of thumb is that 1 minute of vigorous activity provides the same health benefits as 2 minutes of moderate activity.
One way to do the recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes every 5 days each week.
All adults should also break long periods of sitting with light activity.
Source: NHS
Scholars from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College analyzed data from 105,677 people.
Participants were divided into 21 countries, had an average age of 50, and were asked how many hours a day they spent sitting each week.
Researchers tracked their health records for the next 11 years.
At the end of the study, there were just over 6,200 dead.
There were also 2,300 heart attacks, 3,000 strokes and 700 cases of heart failure, although not all were fatal.
Participants were divided into different groups, depending on how long they admitted to sitting.
This allowed the researchers, whose findings were published in JAMA Cardiology, to find out if there was any trend.
Research also suggested that weekly exercise helped reduce the dangers of overeating.
Those who did more, defined as twelve and a half hours a week, had only a 17% higher risk of death or dying.
Meanwhile, those who did less (minus two and a half hours a week) had a 50% higher risk.
But the authors noted that even overactive children had a similar risk of death or heart disease than infrequent children.
They also estimated that 8.8% of deaths and 5.8% of heart disease cases recorded during the study period were due to the combined effect of being overly seated and physically inactive.
The authors said it was comparable to smoking, which accounted for 10.6% and 6.6%.
Lead author Wei Li said the findings should encourage people to stop sitting so much and be more active.
NHS advice states that adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week, such as running.
They should also do muscle strengthening exercises at least two days a week.
Chloe MacArthur of the British Heart Foundation said: “This study adds to what we already know about activity and our health by showing that sitting for more than eight hours a day poses a high risk of stroke.”
He urged office workers to try to do 30 minutes of exercise before or after work and ask their boss for a standing desk.
“A great way to improve your cardiovascular health is to do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, which is only half an hour five days a week.
“This could be done before or after the workday, taking a walk or taking an exercise class, for example.”
Ms MacArthur added: “Employers can also help in ways such as providing standing desks in offices for employees.”
Heart and circulation diseases cause a quarter of all deaths in the UK, about 160,000 a year, the equivalent of one death every three minutes.
In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of Americans: it kills 659,000 people each year, about one every 36 seconds.