UPFRONT | Roundup PREVENTION Excessive sitting linked to chronic diseases Sitting for a major part of the day may be deadly in the long run – even with a regi-men of daily exercise, re-searchers say. In an analysis that pooled data from 41 in-ternational studies, Toronto researchers found the amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and death, regardless of regular exercise. “More than one half of an average person’s day is spent being sedentary – sitting, watching television or work-ing at a computer,” said Dr. David Alter, a senior scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, who helmed the analysis. “Our study finds that de-spite the health-enhancing benefits of physical activity, this alone may not be enough to reduce the risk for dis-ease.” The paper, published Jan-uary in the Annals of Internal Medicine , found that pro-longed sedentary behaviour was associated with a 15 to 20 per cent higher risk of death from any cause; a 15 to 20 per cent higher risk of heart dis-ease, death from heart dis-ease, cancer, death from cancer; and as much as a 90 per cent increased risk of de-veloping diabetes, said Alter. And that was after adjust-ing for the effects of regular exercise. Alter, a cardiologist, said public health messaging has long focused on encouraging Canadians to get daily exer-cise to promote good health – working out to strengthen the heart and circulatory system and to help prevent various cancers, including breast and colon cancer. “We need to get sedentary behaviour on our radar and start talking about that, not just exercise,” Alter said. In his practice, he en-courages patients to stand for periods of time each day, because being fully upright burns twice as many calories as does sitting. It also helps to strengthen bones and muscles through weight-bearing gravity. Dr. Mark Tremblay, direc-tor of Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research at the Children’s Hospital of East-ern Ontario, said the findings are consistent with a growing understanding that sedentary behaviour is a separate and distinct risk factor for major chronic diseases like heart disease and premature death. -Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press Ascenta Professional -Human Market: Canada Process: Spot Color (Black 6, 376) Note: Scale ™ symbol as necessary 12 Canadian Chiropractor April 2015 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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