Study of 91,000 UK people links prolonged sitting to cancer
A fresh study out today in PLOS Medicine has found that sitting for long stretches can actually raise your risk of cancer.
Researchers tracked more than 91,000 people in the UK using activity bands and followed their health for 12 years.
Turns out, just staying glued to your seat for 30 minutes or more at a time can add up to real health risks.
Extra hour raises cancer death 9%
The numbers are pretty clear: every extra hour of prolonged sitting each day was linked to a 9% higher risk of dying from cancer and a 3% bump in overall cancer cases.
But there's good news: breaking up your sitting with movement (even short walks) dropped the risk by up to 18%.
Frederick Ho, senior author, put it, "The good news is that breaking up your sitting time with something as simple as a short walk could be protective."
So, next time you're binge-watching or gaming, maybe stand up and stretch now and then!