The Checkup: Sitting Harms Health, Even If You Exercise

Gah! WE CAN'T WIN!

Sigh. Just when you thought a wee bit of exercise could undo all those deadly hours of sitting, there’s this: A study which found that even if you work out regularly, sitting for long periods can still raise your risk for heart disease, diabetes and death. This is one of those studies of studies, where researchers looked at the results of a group (in this case, 18) of previous studies to draw new conclusions. Reports HealthDay:

They found that people who sit for long periods throughout the day have a two-fold increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and death compared to those who don’t. This increased risk was not affected by levels of moderate-to-vigorous exercise. This suggests that even if a person meets recommended physical activity guidelines, their health may still be at risk if they sit for long periods of time, the researchers said.

As I was saying: we can’t win!

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