Sitting is one of the activities that we always do every day. You can do so many things when sitting, like doing office work, watching, or driving a car. In general, a person can spend up to 10 hours sitting every day. Although it is comfortable, sitting too long is often associated with various health risks.

Many studies have shown that sitting too long can increase the risk of various health problems such as diabetes, obesity, heart-related disease, and even death. This claim is further supported by the results of a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers found that sitting for too long can increase the risk of heart-related disease, especially in older women.

In their study, researchers conducted observations on 518 Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, with an average age of 63 years and a history of obesity. To find out more about their lifestyle, each participant was asked to wear a device that could track physical activities for 14 days. After that, each participant was asked to undergo a blood test to find out blood sugar levels, triglycerides, and insulin resistance.

It was found that the non-Hispanic participants can spend more than 9 hours per day sitting, while Hispanic women spend 8.5 hours per day. Researchers found that every additional 1 hour of sitting can increase the risk of insulin resistance by 7%. Those who sit longer were associated with high blood sugar levels, triglycerides, and insulin resistance. These three factors are factors that can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Pixabay

Source(s):

• Ya-Ju, C., Bellettiete, J., Godbole, S., et al (2020). Total Sitting Time and Sitting Pattern in Postmenopausal Women Differ by Hispanic Ethnicity and are Associated WithCardiometabolic Risk Biomarkers. Journal of the American Heart Association, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.119.013403.
• Medical News Today - More evidence that sitting may raise heart disease risk (2020). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/more-evidence-that-sitting-may-raise-heart-disease-risk, 10 March 2020.