Exercising may counteract the negative effects of sitting after all

Health headlines proclaim anyone who sits for hours each day is doomed to a premature demise, but new research suggests regular exercise may be all that's needed to reverse the damage from being trapped in a chair.

Researchers from the University of Exeter and University College London analysed data from 5000 people over a 16-year period, and found that desk-sitters who were otherwise physically active didn't show a higher risk of early death.

Age, gender, general health and diet, activity levels, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, smoking and alcohol habits were factored in to the study.

The findings challenge previous research suggesting that reducing sitting time is more effective than increasing exercise time, and that breaking up prolonged periods of sitting with incidental movement is key to longevity.

The suggestion that breaking up a sitting session may not be as vital as previously thought could impact Australia's physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines. 

They state that even if you do more than the recommended amount of physical activity every week (currently set at five hours of moderate activity), you will still benefit from minimising and regularly interrupting your daily chair time.

"Our findings suggest that reducing sitting time might not be quite as important for mortality risk as previously publicised," lead author Richard Pulsford, PhD candidate at the University of Exeter, said in a media release.

He added that encouraging people to be more active should still be a public health priority.

Dr Melvyn Hillsdon, associate professor of sport and health sciences, advised policy makers to be cautious about recommending a reduction in sitting time without also promoting increased physical activity.

"Our study overturns current thinking on the health risks of sitting and indicates that the problem lies in the absence of movement rather than the time spent sitting itself. Any stationary posture where energy expenditure is low may be detrimental to health, be it sitting or standing.

"The results cast doubt on the benefits of sit-stand work stations, which employers are increasingly providing to promote healthy working environments."

Authors say more research is needed into the link between sitting and lifestyle diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

This study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.