Sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time linked to higher risk of cancer death | Cancer research
According to research, sitting for more than half an hour every day increases the risk of dying from cancer.
Researchers who tracked more than 90,000 people for a decade found that sitting or lying awake for more than 30 minutes at a time each day was associated with an increased risk of death from cancer. The findings show that the risk increases for every additional hour of continuous inactivity.
But researchers found that breaking up periods of sedentary periods longer than 30 minutes with bursts of physical activity may also help reduce the risk. They say getting up every half hour or even taking a short walk around the office can do wonders for your health.
Lead author of the study from the University of Glasgow, Dr. Frederick Ho said: “Our data shows that sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time is specifically linked to a higher risk of cancer. The good news is that breaking up your sitting time with something as simple as a short walk can be protective.”
“Current health guidelines focus predominantly on moderate or vigorous exercise, but our findings suggest that gentle movements should not be ignored. Going forward, clinical research will help us go beyond general recommendations and develop personalized strategies for breaking up sitting time.”
The findings, published in Plos Medicine, focused on the health effects of prolonged daily sedentary behavior. While sitting or lying down for long periods of time while awake has long been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers, researchers say less is known about whether the way sedentary time accumulates also affects health.
They found that replacing sedentary time with periods of physical activity may help reduce the risk of various cancers. Beneficial activities included slow walking and housework.
The team analyzed data from wearable devices worn by more than 91,000 UK Biobank participants who were followed for an average of 12 years. Findings show that prolonged inactivity of more than 30 minutes is associated with cancer risks. Every hour of prolonged inactivity each day was associated with a 10% increase in the risk of death from cancer.
However, replacing long periods of inactivity with movement has been shown to reduce this risk. Replacing sedentary behavior with light physical activity such as ironing or washing dishes for an hour each day was associated with a 12% reduced risk of death from cancer.
Replacing 30 minutes of inactivity each day with 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, such as walking at an average pace, was associated with an 8% lower risk.
The risk was 22 per cent lower when five minutes of inactivity was replaced by five minutes of intense physical activity each day, the study suggested.
The study had limitations, including that the researchers conducted a statistical analysis of an observational study and therefore could not prove causality.
Prof Kevin McConway, honorary professor of applied statistics at the Open University, who was not involved in the research, said the findings were interesting but more research would be needed.
