Lack of Fitness, Not Too Much Sitting, Shortens Lives

Lack of Fitness, Not Too Much Sitting, Shortens Lives
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A new study suggests that it is your level of fitness, not the amount of time you spend sitting each day, that predicts your susceptibility to disease and longevity.

In this study from Norway, the authors followed 495 women and 379 men, aged 70 to 77 years. They measured sitting time with accelerometers and heart-lung fitness by peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak). Heart-lung fitness is the ability of the heart and lungs to provide oxygenated blood to contracting muscles for prolonged periods.

The researchers found that people who spent 12 to 13 hours sitting each day were 75 percent more likely to have heart attack risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, large waist circumference, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and high fasting blood sugar levels, among others.

Even if they sat for 12 to 13 hours and did not get the recommended amount of exercise each day, the most physically fit people were 40 percent less likely to have abnormal heart attack risk factors.

People who exercised but were not physically fit were not protected from the heart attack risk factors.

Another new study from Rotterdam, Netherlands, shows that people who exercise regularly live significantly longer and suffer fewer heart attacks than non-exercisers. For the average Rotterdam citizen, cycling provided the highest level of fitness and was associated with a man living 3.7 years longer than his non-cycling countrymen.

Sitting Will Not Harm Vigorous Exercisers

(Damian Zaleski/Unsplash)
Damian Zaleski/Unsplash
Gabe Mirkin
Gabe Mirkin
Author
Sports medicine doctor, fitness guru and long-time radio host Gabe Mirkin, M.D. brings you news and tips for your healthful lifestyle. A practicing physician for more than 50 years and a radio talk show host for 25 years, Dr. Mirkin is a graduate of Harvard University and Baylor University College of Medicine. He is one of a very few doctors board-certified in four specialties: Sports Medicine, Allergy and Immunology, Pediatrics and Pediatric Immunology.