Office staff 
urged to 
take stand
for health

Professor Stuart Biddle spelled out his advice after research showed that lounging in a chair for too long can double the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death.

The findings indicate that sitting is bad in itself, irrespective of other time spent exercising or playing sport.

And despite the potential for stress and discomfort, commuting to work on packed trains or buses might have some health benefits.

Scientists analysed the results of 18 studies with a total of 794,577 participants and found a big difference in health outcomes between the most and least sedentary.

Prof Biddle, from the University of Loughborough, who was one of the researchers, said: “Society forces us into too much sitting – sitting at school, sitting at office desks, sitting in cars and so on.

“There are many ways we can reduce our sitting time, such as breaking up long periods at the computer at work by placing our laptop on a filing cabinet. We can have standing meetings, we can walk during the lunch break, and we can look to reduce TV viewing in the evenings by seeking out less sedentary behaviours.”

Prof Biddle practises what he preaches. He has a reminder note on his white board at work that says: “first 15 minutes of a meeting standing up”.

He added: “I get a few odd looks – sometimes people think you’re nuts or assume you have a bad back.

“But I’ve had quite a lot of positive feedback too. Standing up at a meeting makes you appear more animated and seems to make a good impression.”

The study showed that those who spent the most time sitting down had a 112 per cent greater risk of diabetes.

Similarly, the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes was increased by 147 per cent in the most sedentary, and death linked to heart disease by 90 per cent.