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Stop sitting so much: study

Are you sitting down? If so, you may want to get up: a new study on prolonged sitting finds that no one is immune from the harmful effects of hours in a chair.

Published last week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the study saw researchers look at risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes, including waist circumference, body mass index, and cholesterol levels in 4,550 American adults. Subjects were divided by gender, socioeconomic levels, and various ethnic groups.

After controlling for sex, race, activity levels, and other factors, findings showed that increased risks were present in subjects reporting as little as four hours of sitting a day.

Even diet and exercise didn't offer much help, although the researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, did find that risk factors and sitting time were stronger in people who didn't exercise.

The mounting evidence on the health hazards of sitting are troubling, especially for those in careers requiring long hours at the desk. One way to sit less? Get a standing desk, or at least ensure you get regular exercise and take plenty of breaks throughout the day. Plus trim back on your sedentary time in your off hours by opting for exercise over television, which prior studies have found can boost your longevity.

Access the new study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23981954

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