Couch Potatoes Beware: Too Much Sitting Could Be Deadly

Posted on Jan 12, 2010

Flickr / abardwell

An excessively sedentary lifestyle could spell heart disease or even cause premature death, according to a new study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, which gauged health (or issues therewith) according to the amount of time subjects spent sitting and watching television. However, TV isn’t the decisive factor in the mix—sitting for long stretches of time at work is also hazardous to your health, the study found.

The New York Daily News:

Australian researchers followed a group of 8,800 adults for six years, taking into account their individual risk factors. They grouped them into three categories based on their viewing habits: under two hours of television, two to four hours of television and four or more hours of television.

The group that watched four or more hours was 80% more likely to die of heart disease, based on sugar tolerance tests and blood samples. Every hour of viewing increased the risk of all death by 11% and the risk of cancer by 9%.

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