Are you sitting comfortably? Inactivity ‘ kills 70,000 a year’

UsUally you’re advised to sit down when receiving unwelcome news … but in this case, perhaps you’d better not.

Inactivity is thought to be killing almost 70,000 people in Britain a year, researchers have found.

Experts warn we have a ‘sitting-based economy’, in which the vast majority of working adults spend their days bound to a desk. a study found that 30 per cent of us spend at least six hours a day seated during the week. and apparently we are even lazier in our free time – the figure rises to 37 per cent at the weekend.

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast said those who are often sedentary have an 88 per cent increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, a 14 per cent increased risk of heart disease and a 25 per cent increased risk of an early death. and the risks of lung, bowel or womb cancer each go up by roughly 30 per cent.

The academics, writing in the BMJ Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, calculated the NHs spends £762million a year dealing with the consequences of lounging around.

and they said one in nine of all annual UK deaths – 69,276 in 2016/17 – are linked to sedentary behaviour. study leader leo- nie Heron, from QUB’s Centre of Public Health, said many deaths ‘could have been avoided if sedentary behaviour was eliminated’ across the nation.

Her team calculated too much time spent sitting was linked to a staggering 17 per cent of all cases of Type 2 diabetes, and was also linked to heart disease, bowel, womb and lung cancer.

Health officials have also repeatedly warned that Britain is in the midst of an ‘inactivity epidemic’.

Dr Mike Brannan, national lead for physical activity at Public Health England, said: ‘People should sit less and move more.’ He urged those who sit at work to take regular breaks to move around.

Experts are divided on exactly what it is about prolonged sitting that is so harmful. some think it is simply a lack of exercise that does the damage, while others say not moving your muscles for hours at a time can be harmful in the long run.

Dr Gavin sandercock, director of research at the University of Essex, warned Britain now runs on ‘a sittingbased economy’, and said ‘getting people to be more physically active’ is more effective than simply reducing sitting time.

Professor Naveed sattar, of the University of Glasgow, said workers ‘should not worry’ about sitting, but should aim to exercise more outside the office.

‘Sitting-based economy’