Sitting for long periods increases the risk of cancer - study

What was the study about?

Previous work has shown that prolonged sitting may promote cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, some cancers and premature death. Now scientists have decided to check whether, apart from the total time spent in such a position, it is also important how often we break it with movement.

For this purpose, they analyzed data from 91.3 thousand people. participants whose activity was recorded for seven days. Researchers distinguished long and almost uninterrupted periods of sitting from shorter ones. Then, for over 12 years, they checked how many people got cancer and how many died from it.

Long periods of sitting were defined as those lasting at least 30 minutes and the participant had to remain motionless for at least 90 percent. this time. The second category consisted of shorter or more frequently interrupted episodes of sitting.

Sitting for long periods means a higher risk of cancer

It turned out that there were large differences between both categories. Each additional hour of prolonged sitting was associated with a 9% increased risk of death due to cancer. This relationship persisted after taking into account, among others, age, smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, education and socio-economic situation.

Additionally, scientists noticed that the more time participants spent sitting continuously, the more often they developed cancer overall, including: those related to obesity and type 2 diabetes. People who alternated sitting with physical activity more often were less likely to suffer from oncological diseases.

How to prevent the disease?

The authors estimated that replacing one hour of sitting each day with light activity, such as walking slowly, ironing or washing dishes, was associated with a 12% lower risk of lower risk of death.

Benefits were also seen with more intense exercise: 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, reduced the risk by 8%, and five minutes of intense activity, such as running or playing tennis, reduced the risk by 22%.