Posts Tagged ‘fitness’
Want to Live Longer? Don’t sit down!
July 27th, 2010 | Author: admin
Sitting down for more than six hours a day increases the risk of mortality, particularly in the case of women. This is one of the key findings in a study conducted by researchers of the American Cancer Society and published on the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The study followed a cohort of over 123 thousand relatively healthy people over a period of 14 years. Researchers say time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level. The study concludes that in order to reduce the risk of mortality, it is not only recommended being physically active but also reducing time spent sitting.
Dr. Alpa Pattel, lead researcher, stated in a press release issued by the American Cancer Society that “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.”
The study links the sedentary lifestyle followed by many people in the US to the obesity epidemic as well as to all-cause death rates. Greater physical activity, less sedentarism, having a balanced diet, caloric restriction, and proper consumption of nutritional supplements have all been associated with greater longevity.