Can sitting down really shave years off your life?
The background
Sitting less than three hours a day could boost life expectancy in America by as much as two years, whilst limited television viewing to less than two hours a day could add more than a year to your life, researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found.
“The effects of sedentary behavior on life expectancy reported in this study are on a similar order of magnitude as other chronic disease risk factors,” the researchers claim, comparing a sedentary lifestyle to smoking.
Or did they? And is this information really useful?
The findings
The study, published in online journal BMJ Open, was based on data collected from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 2005/2006 and 2009/2010. Researchers found that American adults spend as much as 55 percent of their in sedentary pursuits, and calculated that by reducing those hours spent sitting and or watching television, adults could increase their life expectancy. But, as The Press Association reported, “The authors said their analysis assumes a causal association rather than proving that there is one and added their findings should not be interpreted as meaning that someone who leads a more sedentary lifestyle can expect to live two or 1.4 years less than someone who is more active.”
The study too unreliable – and its targets unfeasible
Already, however, the research has come under fire from experts who claim that its population data are “too unreliable to predict personal risk” and that “the targets are unfeasible”, the BBC reported. Prof David Spiegelhalter, an expert in risk calculations at the University of Cambridge, told the broadcaster, “It seems plausible that if future generations moved around a bit more, then they might live longer on average. But very few of us currently spend less than three hours sitting each day, and so this seems a very optimistic target.” The research also assumes a causal link – that one thing causes the other – where in this case, there may not be, and it didn’t take into account other lifestyle choices of the surveyed population. Moreover, if you work in an office, chances are very good that you spend more than three hours sitting – there’s only so much water-cooler conversation you can reasonably engage in.
Not exactly shocking results, but definitely depressing
“Surprising or not, these findings are pretty depressing — especially when so many of us spend most of our days on our asses for work,” noted Louis Peitzman at Gawker. “And yes, there are alternatives, like standing or treadmill desks, but who wants to engage in physical activity and write at the same time? That’s way too much energy use all at once. In other breaking news, you should try harder to eat fruits and vegetables.”
More in what can kill you this week
- Low-carb diets linked to heart disease
- Health warning over women’s waists
- Tight pants harm male fertility
- Exercise ‘doesn’t ease depression’
