Is Sitting Just As Dangerous As Smoking?

Las Vegas—The phrase “Sitting is the new smoking,” has been tossed around for some time, and during a session at the NAMCP forum, Alan G. Adler, MD, MS, FACP, senior medical director, Independence Blue Cross, explained that the “couch potato lifestyle” is killing people at approximately the same rate as smoking.

Emerging research has indicated that it is possible to meet current daily physical activity guidelines while still being too sedentary, which increases the risk of death and disease despite physical activity that is taking place.

Dr. Adler discussed a study of 3757 women that found for every 2 hours they sat in a workday, the risk of developing diabetes increased 7%. Prolonged periods of sitting shuts down metabolic activity. The body uses less blood sugar and burns less fat, which increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes. According to the presentation, an adult man who sits for >6 hours per day has an 18% increased risk of dying from heart disease and a 7.8% increased risk of dying from diabetes compared with someone who sits for 3 hours each day.

Another study discussed, a 12-year Canadian study, found that the more time people spent sitting, the earlier they died, regardless of age, body weight, or how much they exercised.

A separate study examined adults who spent <2 hours per day sitting in front of the television with those who sat for >4 hours in front of the television. In the group that logged more sedentary screen time, they had a nearly 50% increased risk of death from any cause; approximately 125% increased risk of events associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), including angina or heart attack; and the increased risk was separate from other traditional risk factors for CVD, including smoking or high blood pressure.

In addition to CVD risks, a sedentary lifestyle increases the risks for cancer and depression. Dr. Adler shared that researchers found that with each 2-hour increase in a person’s sitting time per day, their risk of colon cancer increased by 8% and women’s risk of endometrial cancer increased by 10%. “The results were independent of physical activity, showing that sedentary behavior represents a potential cancer risk factor, distinct from physical inactivity,” said the study’s author, Daniela Schmid, department of epidemiology and preventive medicine, University of Regensburg, Germany.

In an Australian study examining the effects of prolonged sitting and risk of depression, women who sat >7 hours per day were nearly 50% more likely to report depressive symptoms than women who sat ≤4 hours per day.

In addition, recent discovery of the gene lipid phosphate phosphatase-1 (LPP1) is significantly suppressed when sitting for a few hours occurs, and LPP1, which helps prevent blood clotting and inflammation to keep the cardiovascular system healthy, was not impacted by exercise if a person’s muscles were inactive most of the day.

Dr. Adler also discussed the impact of health complications related to the use of technology or sitting at a desk. In a study, 60% reported health problems, including:

• 36% eye strain
• 30% back pain
• 27% neck pain
• 24% headaches
• 24% lower back pain
• 21% wrist pain
• 12% upper back pain
• 11% carpal tunnel syndrome
• 9% insomnia
• 2% other

To offset these findings, Dr. Adler presented ways to combat these health risks, including taking an active and standing break every 30 minutes, doing exercises and light stretching throughout the day, walking meetings at work, and specialized work stations, such as standing and treadmill desks.

Dr. Adler expanded on the power of walking, which can help individuals with a more sedentary lifestyle. According to research, individuals with chronic kidney disease who walked for exercise were 21% less likely to need dialysis or a kidney transplant and were 33% less likely to die compared with patients who did not engage in physical activity. In addition, the more walking a person did, the lower their risk of mortality. Individuals who walked 1 to 2 times per week were 17% less likely to die, while those who walked 3 to 4, 5 to 6, and ≥7 times per week were 28%, 58%, and 59% less likely to die, respectively.—Kerri Fitzgerald