People who remain in a seated position for more than eight hours a day are more likely to die prematurely from cancer.
- The combination of prolonged sitting and lack of physical activity is associated with elevated risks of death from all causes including cancer.
- Adults are recommended to engage in moderate-intensity activity for at least 150 to 300 minutes per week.
In France, teleworking has become compulsory for all employees for whom it is possible. Since the beginning of January, many French people, forced to work at home, have been moving less than usual. Some tend to move from bed to sofa to desk chair and often stay in a prolonged sitting position. Problem: this gesture harms their health. According to work published in the journal JAMA Oncology January 6thsitting more than eight times a day is associated with increased risk of cancer-related mortality.
To reach this conclusion, American and Canadian scientists collected data from 1,535 patients, over the age of 40, who survived cancer. This information was found in an American survey called the “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey” carried out between 2007 and 2014. Participants were asked how many hours they remained seated and the duration of their physical activities. The study authors looked at participants’ dates of death after surviving cancer.
A risk of death multiplied by more than five
“Cancer survivors who did not meet the physical activity recommendations for Americans (150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity) and who sat more than eight hours per day were at risk of death multiplied by more than five, all causes combined – cancer or not”, said Lin Yang, author of the study.
The researcher clarified that further research on “causal relationships between sedentary behavior, physical activity and survival after cancer, as well as the biological mechanisms underlying these relationships” should be carried out.
Exercising to reduce the risk of death
According to Alpa Patel, vice president of the American Cancer Society, “This study continues to send the important message of being physically active and trying to limit the time spent sitting”. As a reminder, the World Health Organization recommends that people over the age of 18 devote at least 150 to 300 minutes per week to moderate-intensity endurance activity or engage in at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity endurance activity.
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