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PROLONGED SITTING IS as dangerous to a person’s health as smoking, according to researchers at Queen’s University in Belfast.
Sitting for long periods of time has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and even early death.
Researchers at the university say it could be as big a threat to public health as smoking, if not more so.
Dr Mark Tully, from the UKCRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health at Queen’s University, said people spend, on average, over nine hours (or up to 80% of their waking day) sitting down.
“One of the biggest threats to health is the amount of time spent sitting.
“Public health scientists have recognised the need to develop effective interventions to address the high levels of inactivity across ages, with sitting regarded as ‘the new smoking’,” Tully said.
The Queen’s researchers are part of a European consortium which has received a €4.5 million European Commission grant to help develop innovative ways to tackle sedentary behaviour and increase physical activity in older people.
Working with researchers in Spain, Denmark, Germany, France and Scotland, the four-year study will see the Queen’s team develop new ways of helping adults over 65 years of age to sit less and become more active
They will then test the methods on 1,300 people in four European countries.
Poorer kidney function
Tully will lead the project in Northern Ireland.
Queen’s researchers have already shown that mothers who sit more during pregnancy are likely to have heavier babies, while men who spend more time sitting at work have poorer kidney function.
“During this study we hope to be able to identify effective methods to help our ageing society make positive lifestyle changes in order to improve their health and wellbeing. This programme will then be available for delivery through the health system in each of the member countries,” Tully stated.
Some suggestions that could be used to help people be more active at work are treadmill and height adjustable desks, which allow users to alternate between standing and sitting.
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Wake up, drive an hour to work, work 8-9 hours, drive home takes an hours again or more. Bloddy wrecked tired, repeat for the next 30-40 years. Add in the fun of kids (if you have them) , traffic, stress, boss etc etc if you have them….is that really living folk…..really come on?
yep dont forget to live while your alive people
What do you suggest?
Eat, drink and be merry Ronan…just don’t sit down !
If you only consume water and cabbage and a spud and you can sleep standing up you could easily reach 200.
That’s 90% of The Journals readers fecked so!!
I had to sit down after reading this.
I read an article saying toothpaste may cause cancer. fcuk that ! is anything safe ?
Sitting down bad for you, smoking bad for you, red meat bad for you, drinking bad for you, too much sun bad for you, takeaways bad for you ……so take me now Lord
I don’t drink, smoke and I’ve a physical job. I can only assume I’ll live forever.
but do you really want to live forever?
Barring accidents, and when you have them, you just regenerate
and apparently drinking one glass of wine a day will give you breast cancer!
Sure I breast fed my daughter for 2.5 years and I was breast fed for 1 year , its near impossible for me to get breast cancer. *Picks up glass of wine…. But everything causes cancer, if im going to get it, I might as well go out with a bang. With a chocolate bar in one hand and a chardonnay in the other.
But…but.. but they told us a glass of red wine is good for your ticker, now I’ll get cancer….damn always a drawback.
Dont worry Molly on the good side after 3 glasses you’ll no longer give a sh!t.
Not that I gave a sh*t in the first place Lily, done the wine thing, got cholesterol checked and it was 7.8 (I’m 8st and can slip through a crack in the wall), basically a heart attack waiting to happen. Jebus, each week it’s something different, once it was eggs, coffee, tea, butter all bad….or are they?. Makes my head hurt.
So sitting on your ass for 80% of your day is unhealthy? They needed a study to discover this? I have yet to see an obese athlete.
Sumo? Darts?
Sumo wrestler?
I’ll concede on the Sumo, but you’ll never convince me a dart player is an athlete anymore than a poker player is.
Left yourself open there Norman :)
True Alan.
Prop
Shot putt.
hammer thrower.
Yes Norman, all sorts of things of need to be studied because a lot of the times things that seem “obvious” are just plain wrong. Also, the study will have been looking at the exact effects of long periods of sitting in heart rate, blood pressure etc. When you know what the effects are you can establish the mechanisms by which they cause harm and mitigate against them.
I used to love Jocky Wilson.
Anyone wanna join me down the pub for a few scoops and darts? my arms could use a workout after all this reading. I’ll be down there anyway get onto me on Whatsapp
We have recently had height adjustable desks put in our predominantly male office, I really like them and not because I like standing but because I can now get a better view of the rear ends and physical form of the all the hot fitties all around me. Those colleagues who are not so fit still like to sit which is fine by me as I get to see less of them while they slouch in their chairs.
You mistyped fatties
Fifties not fatties Pauliebhoy )
How about standing all day doing fuc all but reading the journal??
Nope, not good, bad for the ‘ol veins and your sanity.
Sitting is bad for your health????????? Say it ain’t so!!!
Not if you sit on my lap!
Nope, a 4.5 million grant apparently says it is true.
Standing all day is bad for your feet, back, varicose veins especially in ill fitting footwear and heals.
Was thinking the same thing. You cannot win. Marketing and scare tactics are getting worse and worse. There is pros and cons to most things, they focus on the cons. They received €4.5 million to tell people this. Their job is to make people more active = implement scare tactics. The funny thing is, it works very very well. Next week we will have an article based on research funded by Ikea on how standing up is awful for you.
Quote: Standing to work has long known to be problematic, it is more tiring, it dramatically increases the risks of carotid atherosclerosis (ninefold) because of the additional load on the circulatory system, and it also increases the risks of varicose veins, so standing all day is unhealthy.
Damn it ! Can someone kindly direct me to the nearest sitting cessation programme please !!
What a crock of shite
Doctor, I take me hat off to you for your succinct comment!
9 hours = up to 80% of time awake?!?
I’d be more concerned about sleeping for over 12 hours.
Lying down is bad for you.
If only we all could be a little more like Rory Calhoun
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I sit down all day and smoke all night im foooked so
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