Our office jobs, TV shows, and endless couch scrolling all have one thing in common: They promote sedentary behavior, or low-energy movements focused on sitting, lying, or lying down.
Modern society encourages sitting for long periods of time. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, about 25% of American adults are physically inactive, meaning they don’t move outside of work.
It’s well known that sitting all day can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and lead to decreased muscle mass, but new research from the UK has found that sedentary lifestyles are also linked to a higher risk of cancer and cancer-related deaths.
The recent study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, examined the relationship between prolonged sitting and cancer risk and the risk of cancer death. Researchers found that people who interrupted their sitting for movement or exercise were less likely to die of cancer.
Specifically, those who interspersed their sedentary time with an hour or more of light-intensity physical activity, such as walking at a slow pace or completing a chore like washing dishes (yes, chores count as movement too!), had a 12% reduced risk of cancer-related death.
Those who replaced 30 minutes of sedentary time with moderate physical activity (such as walking at a moderate pace of 3 to 4 miles per hour) had an 8% reduced rate of cancer-related deaths, and those who replaced just five minutes of sedentary time with vigorous exercise (such as brisk walking) had a 22% lower rate of cancer-related deaths.
“Stand up. That’s the main message,” Dr. Heidi Prather, founder and medical director of the Lifestyle Medicine Program at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, told HuffPost. Prather is not affiliated with the research.
“Obviously we’re all tied to a computer or a car or something that keeps us inactive, but just interrupting that with any type of activity seems to have, according to their data, very impressive results. Not just death from cancer, but even the risk of developing cancer,” Prather added.
Researchers looked at data from 91,292 adults who wore wrist trackers for seven days to monitor their physical activity and the time they spent sedentary.
Study participants were then followed for a median of 12.38 years to monitor cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths.
The researchers divided sedentary behavior into two categories: prolonged sedentary behavior, which lasted more than 30 minutes, and interrupted sedentary behavior, which was sedentary behavior that lasted less than 30 minutes and was interrupted by movement.
People with higher rates of prolonged sedentary behavior had a higher risk of certain cancers, including breast, colorectal, esophageal, thyroid and liver, as well as a higher risk of cancer death.
Although reducing the time spent sitting is an important way to challenge your muscles and cardiovascular fitness, this study has limitations. In a press release, the study authors said the participants, who are part of the UK Biobank health database, had “higher levels of physical activity than the general UK population”. We also don’t know what a person did when they were sedentary; they could be doing anything: commuting, working, watching a movie or something else.
Movement helps reduce inflammation in the body, which may decrease the risk of cancer.
According to Prather, the risk of some cancers (like breast, colorectal, and prostate) is 60 percent genetic, but 40 percent of cancer risk is related to lifestyle factors, such as diet, sleep, stress, socializing, relationships, risky substance use, and, yes, exercise.
“(These things) combined put us at risk for chronic systemic inflammation and chronic disease, of which cancer can be one,” Prather said.
Sedentary lifestyles can also lead to obesity, which is also a risk factor for several types of cancer.
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Ultimately, try to move more – and that’s important even if you exercise regularly.
While it’s ideal to have an exercise routine that you stick to every day, this isn’t possible for everyone. This research shows that even if you’re not someone who goes for long runs or signs up for weekly Zumba classes, all movement is beneficial for your health.
“It doesn’t have to be so restrictive,” Prather explained. The move could be parking farther from the grocery store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or getting off the bus one stop earlier to walk those extra two blocks, she said.
Any amount is important, Prather said.
“Setting small goals will help you reach the bigger goal, and starting easy, starting with something you wouldn’t even have a goal for, making it so easy,” she added.
Maybe your goal is to get up for a 10-minute walk every day after lunch. Or maybe it’s taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Or maybe it takes a 10-minute break to wipe down the kitchen counters. There is no wrong goal and the movement will be different for everyone.
It’s worth noting that you are not exempt from a “move more” prescription, even if you go to the gym every day before work. If you find yourself sitting for long periods of time, whether at work or on the couch, you need to do something about it.
“Get up, get moving because this study shows that it’s important to break up long periods of stillness,” Prather said. “It was clear that if you have prolonged sedentary behavior, it’s as risky as not exercising.”
Even if you exercise regularly, be sure to also break up your daily sitting with a walk around the block or several standing breaks throughout the day to get your blood flowing and your muscles moving.
“We were supposed to move…we weren’t supposed to sit still,” Prather said.
The original version of this story was published on HuffPost earlier.
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