Get out of that chair!

“Sittingitis” increases our chance for some 35 serious conditions, because getting up and moving around is key for regulating proteins, genes and other systems that lower our susceptibility to disease. Here are just some of the effects:

1 Depression and anxiety The more you sit at work, the greater your risk, even if you exercise. The more people move throughout the day, the happier they are.

2 Back and neck pain Just four hours of sitting can compress a key disc in your lower back. Poor posture can also lead to disc problems in your neck.

3 Cancer Risk of colon and endometrial cancer goes up even after accounting for exercise, possibly due to inflammation, weight gain and other changes. For every additional two hours per day spent sitting, risk jumps eight per cent for colon cancer and 10 per cent for endometrial cancer.

4 Obesity, diabetes and heart trouble You burn fewer kilojoules sitting, but also the hormone insulin’s ability to move glucose out of blood and into cells may decline when you sit for long periods.

5 Weak bones Standing and walking signals specialised cells to replace old bone tissue with new. When you sit too much, the body replaces less of what it loses, leading to fragile bones and a greater risk of osteoporosis, especially as you get older.

6 Blood clots Slow blood flow in the legs from being sedentary, possibly along with lower levels of clot-preventing proteins, increases your risk. Women who sat for over 40 hours a week had more than twice the risk of a clot moving to their lungs compared with those who sat for less than 10 hours.