The sedentary lifestyle, distinct from lack of physical activity, corresponds to the time spent sitting or lying down during the day, excluding sleeping time. For the National Observatory of Physical Activity and Sedentary Life (Onaps), we can consider ourselves sedentary for more than seven hours spent sitting or lying down in a day. According to estimates from the National Food Safety Agency (ANSES), 95% of the French adult population is exposed to a risk of deterioration in health due to lack of physical activity or too long time spent sitting. Indeed, a sedentary lifestyle increases certain health risks such as cardiovascular illnesses, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, depression or even anxiety.
In recent study published on January 19, 2024 in the journal Jama Network Openscientists quantified the health risks associated with prolonged sitting at work and determined whether there is a certain threshold of physical activity that could mitigate these risks.
Working seated all day increases mortality risks
To carry out this study, researchers analyzed data from more than 481,000 people aged 20 and over who participated in an annual or biannual health check-up program in Taiwan, between 1996 and 2017. The participants were followed over an average period of almost 13 years. The team of scientists collected data on sitting posture at work, leisure physical activity habits, lifestyle and metabolic parameters of participants. Additionally, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality associated with three ways of working while sitting (mainly sitting, alternating between sitting and no sitting, and mostly no sitting) were studied. After analyzing the data, the results showed that people who worked mainly in a sitting position had a risk of mortality all causes combined 16% higher as well as a 34% higher risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases compared to those who worked mainly in a non-seated position. Furthermore, people who alternated sitting and non-sitting work did not experience an increase in the risk of mortality from all causes compared to people who worked non-sitting most often.
Physical activity: what is the ideal duration to reduce the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle?
Even if your job requires you to sit all day, you can still reduce the risks that a sedentary lifestyle poses to your health by engaging in physical activity every day. According to the study results, people who mainly sit at work should engage in 15 to 30 minutes of additional physical activity per day to mitigate this increased risk and achieve the same level of risk as people primarily not sitting at work.
Sources :
- Occupational Sitting Time, Leisure Physical Activity, and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, Jama Network Open
- Lack of physical activity and excessive sedentary lifestyle: a public health priority, ANSES
- Sedentary lifestyle at work: effective interventions exist to improve employee health, Public Health France
