Working all day while sitting increases the risk of dying young by 16%.
- The French spend on average seven hours per day sitting (in front of a screen, at the workplace, in transport, etc.).
- A new study shows that sitting all day increases the risk of all-cause mortality by 16%.
- Working seated all day also increases the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 34%.
“What are the health effects associated with prolonged sitting at work in people in good physical condition”? This is the question that a group of researchers wanted to answer, whose study has just been published in THE JAMA.
This experiment included 481,688 participants living in Taiwan. All were monitored between 1996 and 2017. During this period, scientists collected all kinds of data on the selected individuals, such as time spent sitting at work, physical activity habits, lifestyle global and metabolic parameters. The data analysis was carried out in December 2020.
Working while seated increases the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 34%
The study recorded 26,257 deaths during an average follow-up period of 12 years. After adjusting analyzes for sex, age, education, smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index, people who worked primarily in a seated position had a 50% higher risk of all-cause mortality. 16% and a 34% higher risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases compared to those who worked mainly standing.
Furthermore, people alternating sitting and standing work did not experience an increase in mortality risk compared to people working most often far from a chair.
Physical activity can reduce mortality associated with sitting work
Another lesson from the research: the risk of death linked to a sedentary lifestyle was significantly reduced in people who practiced 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day.
“These results indicate that reducing sitting in the workplace and/or increasing the volume or intensity of daily physical activity may be beneficial in mitigating the high mortality risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. professional”, summarize the authors of the survey.
“We need to denormalize sedentary lifestyle”
“Modern lifestyles have become increasingly sedentary, with prolonged sitting now an integral part of our lives. Yet, with a few exceptions, the scientific literature agrees on its deleterious effects,” scientists also deplore.
“We must help society to denormalize a sedentary lifestyle, like the process of denormalizing smoking,” they conclude.
According to ANSES, French people spend on average seven hours per day sitting (in front of a screen, at the workplace, on transport, etc.).
