A Sedentary Lifestyle Means Earlier Death

Do you know how long you'll live?

As if you didn't have enough reasons to get regular exercise, a recent study shows that those who sit the most have shorter life spans. This is true even for those who exercise. Read on for more details on the study.

The facts

The study, which included participants 45 years old and older, proves just how vital exercise and staying active are to your health and life expectancy.

Its most striking finding was that people who sat more than 11 hours a day had a 40% higher risk of dying in the next three years than people who sat less than four hours a day. This was after adjusting for factors such as age, weight, physical activity and general health status, all of which affect the death risk. It also found a clear dose-response effect: the more people sat, the higher their risk of death.

It didn't matter whether the study participants were active or inactive, the more they sat the more likely the were to die within 3 years, showing that prolonged sitting was a risk factor in death.

The good news

The evidence did reveal some positive news: Exercising as much as 5 hours a week or more had a much lower risk of death.

This highlights the importance of not only getting exercise several times a week, but also staying active. Find ways to move throughout the day, like standing instead of sitting while you work, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and taking walk breaks several times a day. Your life span depends on it!

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Sources: TheAtlantic.com; Archives of Internal Medicine