Today’s report of seemingly innocuous things that could lead to your early tragic death involves sitting for more than six hours a day, if you’re female.
Are you sitting down for this? Well, you’d better get up. According to a study by the American Cancer Society, sitting for more than six hours a day suppresses hormones that inhibit heart disease. “Oh,†you might say, “well, I happen to exercise and eat right when I’m not working and sitting idle at a desk.†It doesn’t matter. Even amongst regular gym rats, there was a 37% increased risk of death amongst heavy-sitters, and that risk skyrockets to 94% if you don’t exercise ever.
“Even if you are active, sitting for long periods of time will impact your health, and you’ll have a shorter life span,†said Alpa Patel, the study’s lead author. “Whether a person is sitting at a desk, or sitting on a couch, sitting for long periods of time is harmful.â€
The study, which followed 123,216 people for 14 years, showed much lower risk rates for men. 17% of otherwise active men incurred the sitting related health problems, and 48% of lazy-ass couch potatoes who are male were more “prone to death.â€