What are the risks of sitting for a long time? New study answers

A new study shows that spending too much time sitting can be dangerous to your health. Staying in this position for more than 11 hours a day, for example, increases the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases by more than 78% and the risk of dying from any other illness by 57% compared to someone who spends less than nine hours on the couch. for example.

This is what researchers from the University of California, in the United States, show in an article published in Journal of the American Heart Associationjournal of the American Heart Association.

In addition to proving the harm of excessive hours without activity, scientists also found that spending more than 15 uninterrupted minutes without mobility also affects health. The authors evaluated the sedentary time of almost 6,000 elderly women with the help of an accelerometer – a device placed on the hip that detects posture and movement – ​​for seven days.

The data was processed by an algorithm, which excluded moments of sleep. Then, the volunteers' health records were monitored for the next eight years.

“The result corroborates that sedentary behavior increases the risk of death, and the data is interesting because it puts a cutoff, a number of hours”, says Everton Crivoi do Carmo, physical educator, doctor in sports sciences and responsible for physical preparation at Einstein Sport and Rehabilitation Space.

Carmo explains that the lack of physical activity brings harm in several aspects. Without the need to adapt to respond to an effort, the heart becomes smaller and weaker. There is an increase in glucose in circulation, as it does not need to be used as fuel for the muscles. This, in turn, decreases insulin sensitivity, generating a predisposition to diabetes.

The expert also says that staying still increases triglycerides and pro-inflammatory markers in the blood. Furthermore, the lack of muscle activation impairs the ability to produce force. “People get tired due to anything, so they exert themselves less and less, which makes them lose more strength, leaving them even more tired and generating a vicious cycle”, says the expert.

In the study, there was an association with overweight and smoking, which could be an indicator of a certain lifestyle, says the expert. “To reverse it, it is necessary to understand the person’s motivation factors, establish meaningful goals and objectives, propose activities and responsibilities at home, for example.”

But he recognizes that this is often not an easy task: “Many elderly people end up becoming more isolated, the family is far away and, unintentionally, the environment itself promotes a sedentary lifestyle. It is necessary to participate in social activities, encourage the person to do small tasks, such as getting up to drink water, leaving the house, taking a daily walk or simple activities, such as gardening.”

Sedentary behavior

The warning about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle also applies to younger people. “At any age, there’s no point spending two hours at the gym and sitting around for the rest of the day”, reinforces the Einstein specialist.

“Our daily lives encourage sedentary behavior, but we need to think about strategies to maintain an active lifestyle, with small exercises throughout the day, whether by dividing them up, or by taking advantage of opportunities to walk or climb stairs, for example. ”