Skip to main content

Another study on the dangers of sitting


Chronic disease and sitting time in middle-aged Australian males: findings from the 45 and Up Study

That is a link to the pdf of the full paper.


As usual, the NHS Choices site is pretty good at pointing out the limitations of the study before we all rush off and get too paranoid about things.

ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that there is an association between longer periods of time spent sitting down and diabetes and overall chronic disease in middle-aged Australian males.
Previous research has also found that the amount of time spent sitting down (‘sedentary behaviour’) is a risk factor for health, and that this risk factor is independent of the amount of time spent performing physical activity. This large study, which took into account several potential confounding variables, adds to this body of evidence. However, this study has limitations:
  • Due to the cross-sectional study design, we cannot tell whether increased sitting time occurs before or after the development of chronic diseases.
  • All of the data was self-reported by the men in the study. This means that it could have been affected by recall bias, or by under- or over-reporting.
  • Not all people who were invited to complete the questionnaire did so. This means that there could have been a ‘selection bias’ in the recruitment of participants. This could have skewed the results either way – healthy people may have been more likely to respond or, alternatively, men more worried about their health may have been more likely to respond.
  • It should also be remembered that this study was performed in middle-aged Australian men, and it is unclear whether the results can be generalised to other populations.
Despite these limitations, this study offers further support for the current physical activity recommendations for adults and the fact that physical inactivity can be bad for you.


Exercise of course is very good for you.... 

Comments

Anonymous said…
All of these studies and I still haven't seen enough demand for my Blank Slate Climbing Solution - a climber's standing desk - to produce it in quantity.

http://www.blankslateclimbing.com/shop/item/the-solution/

I'm going to make it anyway.
February 22, 2013 at 10:15 AM
James Marshall said…
This and the rsearch on posture and prolonged sitting reminds me to get up and move more. Buying a pedometer, or setting an interval timer to go off every 20 mins helps me leave the desk.
The problems are well known, it is helping people change that is harder to achieve.
February 22, 2013 at 11:17 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dry January

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January".  I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol.  A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic.  As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure.  There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly.  I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful.  But over time, one glass became two.  Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle.  A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
7 comments
Read more

So where have I been?

You will have noticed that this blog has been quiet for a while....  There are a few reasons for that, reasons that I thought I'd list here: WORK -  my day job has been incredibly busy and stressful this year. Working 10-14 hour days the last thing on my mind when I got home was putting something on here.  FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I suppose I've been using other channels to do some of what I used to do here. Quick fire posts pointing to interesting studies or news etc tend to get posted to Twitter (@chrishighcock) or to the Facebook Hillfit group http://www.facebook.com/groups/263083947097000/  REASSESSMENT - I've found myself less comfortable with some of the positions I've taken in the past. Sometimes I'm embarrassed by some of the things I've promoted. I'm not Paleo or low carb. I think Tabata and intervals are misunderstood and misapplied. I cannot really claim to be HIT.   I find myselfunable  honestly to post things on here and pretend that I am some sort o...
12 comments
Read more

Taking up space for a brief update

I've a couple of posts in draft that I will get up soon -  an update / reflection on Dry January and some thoughts on the scheduling benefits of short workouts if your life is busy.  Before that though, I am pointing to something else. However, I wanted to highlight something that is coming this weekend that I've been involved in.   Amber Rogers (Gokaleo and author of Taking Up Space ) has been pulling together a bundle of books from various authors with a common theme, one that I've been pushing here recently.   Keep it simple, avoid the hype, be patient, be consistent and flee the gurus.   I've talked before about how we get obsessed with pushing for more and more, when enough is OK.  I've given my view that so much of the health and fitness internet world is more like a gnostic religion than something that will benefit your life. There are other voices out there saying similar things and I'll be pointing to a bundle of books later this week ...
1 comment
Read more