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We have known for quite some time now that physical inactivity is bad for you. And more and more studies are coming to confirm that. Even though we already knew that sedentary behavior is associated with higher risk factors from a wide array of afflictions, a new study from Netherlands shows that sitting down for too long increases risk of type 2 diabetes.
Sitting down is very bad for you
A very large part of the population doesn’t really have any other choice but to sit down for long stretches of time. It’s like the modern world was designed to keep up seated, since pretty much every activity we get involved in requires us to sit down. Whether it is driving, working, or going out, seating is involved in every single activity we try to perform. Even exercising can involve sitting, especially if you choose to go to the gym.
There are multiple studies to show the dangers of sitting down for too long, and this one is only here to join them. According to the researchers from Netherlands, even 40 extra minutes of sitting down can lead to a dramatically increased chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
The Netherlands study
The study looked at a huge sample of subjects, having 2,497 participants involved in the research. The researchers strapped thigh monitors on the participants and had their blood sugar and glucose levels monitored for eight days.
Most of the participants had jobs that required them to sit down for nine hours or more every day. According to the findings, even one extra hour of sitting down led to a 22% increase in the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, and with a 39% increased chance of developing metabolic syndrome.
Additional information would be that most of the people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes were also smokers and had a higher body mass index. This may pose a problem regarding the study’s accuracy, since it was strictly observational.
This means that the researchers didn’t find a cause-effect relationship between sitting down and diabetes, just a very obvious connection. And even though it is most likely that the study’s premise is accurate, it has not yet been confirmed.
In more concerning news, physical inactivity, or being sedentary, was found to be fourth leading risk factor for causing death worldwide.
Some suggestions to slightly decrease your chances of developing a disease because of all of the sitting you’re doing would be to occasionally get up and walk around for a few minutes after every hour spent sitting down, switching to a standing desk, or just walking around during your commercial breaks.
Image source: Mount Pleasant Granary
