Various studies about the dangers of sitting for long hours have been conducted and a new Korean study just added another reason why people need to stand up.
TIME reports a research published in the Journal of Hepatology says too much time spent sitting increases the risk of developing Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. As people remain on their seats for too long, excess fat will continue to build up in the liver, eventually causing scarring up to liver disease.
A group of scientists led by Seungho Ryu at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital and Sungkyunkwan University studied data from 139,056 men and women from various hospitals who completed physical exams and food questionnaires. According to results, those who sat for more than 5 hours a day increased their risks in developing NAFLD up to 9% than those who spent less than 5 hours.
Those who exercise regularly are not exempted since participants who reported spending more time sitting at every level of physical activity still have increased risks for NAFLD than those who sat less.
Exercise, however, still does have an independent effect on the condition by decreasing the risks of NAFLD to those who are physically active.
According to researchers, sitting for too long and less exercise both contribute to higher risks of liver disease. "Our findings suggest that both increasing participation in physical activity and reducing sitting time may be independently important in reducing the risk of NAFLD," said the study's co-author Dr. Yoosoo Chang.
Previous studies also linked too much sitting to other illnesses such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
"Interventions for decreasing sitting time in the worksite and home are needed to improve health outcomes across all groups-not just those identified as having the longest sitting times," said NYU Langone Population Health assistant professor Dr. Stella S. Yi.
"Although more information is accumulating about the dangerous health effects of sitting - even if you exercise regularly-few studies have actually quantified how much time people spend in this position."
