Just one hour of sitting down may increase diabetes risk by a fifth

ConclusionThis study adds to existing evidence which suggests the amount of time we spend physically inactive, either sitting or lying down, could have a poor effect on our health. It does not, however, prove that sitting for long periods causes diabetes. The study has some strengths, including its size and the fact that activity levels were measured objectively. Activity levels in the Netherlands are likely to be similar to those in the UK, so these findings may also apply to us. However, the cross-sectional design of the study means it cannot show that sedentary behaviour is a cause of diabetes, even when taking account of the researchers’ assertion that their analysis of people with more severe diabetes makes this more likely.Although the researchers adjusted their figures to take account of many confounding factors, they did not look at some other lifestyle aspects that could be important in developing diabetes, such as what people ate and family history of diabetes. Study results aside, we already know that exercise and physical activity are good for cardiovascular health, so it’s not surprising that spending much of your day sitting down is likely to be a bad thing.It can be hard to keep active if you have a job that requires you to spend a lot of time sitting down, such as being a taxi driver or working on a computer. This study gives one more potential reason to make sure you spend as much time as possible being physically active, whether that’s going to the gym...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Diabetes Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news