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Sitting too much: the health risks of a desk job and how to offset them

Updated Six Habits Editorial Team
An office worker standing up from her desk to stretch
The short answerProlonged sitting is linked to higher risk of death and chronic disease even in people who sometimes exercise. A meta-analysis of more than one million people found that 60 to 75 minutes of moderate activity a day largely offsets this risk. Guidelines advise limiting sitting and replacing it with any movement.

Key points

Why sitting is its own problem

Many Americans spend most of their waking hours sitting: at work, in the car and in front of screens. Prolonged sitting is linked to higher risk of death, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, even among people who exercise.

What a meta-analysis of more than a million people found

Pooling 16 studies with more than one million adults, researchers found that people who sat more than 8 hours a day and were inactive had the highest risk of death. Among those who got 60 to 75 minutes of moderate activity a day, high sitting time did not increase mortality. TV viewing of 3 to 5 hours or more a day was linked to higher risk even in active people (Ekelund et al., 2016).

What the guidelines say

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (Piercy et al., 2018) and WHO guidelines (Bull et al., 2020) advise adults to sit less and replace sitting with activity of any intensity.

Simple habits for the workday

A 3-minute micro-break

  1. Shoulder rolls, 10 times.
  2. Neck stretches side to side.
  3. Squats from a chair, 10 times.
  4. Calf raises, 15 times.
  5. A short walk around the office.

A caveat

These studies are observational, but the findings are consistent, and moving more carries little risk.

Frequently asked questions

Is a standing desk the answer?

Standing all day has its own problems. The goal is to alternate sitting, standing and moving.

How often should I take breaks?

Every 30 to 60 minutes, stand up and move for a few minutes.

Sources

  1. Ekelund et al. (2016). Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women. The Lancet 388(10051):1302-1310. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30370-1
  2. Bull et al. (2020). World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine 54(24):1451-1462. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
  3. Piercy et al. (2018). The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. JAMA 320(19):2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.14854

Prepared according to our evidence methodology and the principles of lifestyle medicine. For education only; it does not replace advice from your doctor.

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