LONDON, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Recent research has shown sitting for long periods of time is detrimental to health and linked to an increased risk of death, however a new study in England shows that a lack of physical activity is more relevant.
The results of the new study, conducted at University College London and the University of Exeter, suggest standing desks do not solve the health problem posed by people's increasingly sedentary lives.
The new research echoes a long-term study conducted at the University of Leeds, which found people who fidgeted or moved around while sitting at their desks at work lowered the risk of death caused by too much time sitting.
"Our study overturns current thinking on the health risks of sitting and indicates that the problem lies in the absence of movement rather than the time spent sitting itself," said Dr. Melvyn Hillsdon, a researcher at in in sport and health sciences at the University of Exeter, in a press release. "Any stationary posture where energy expenditure is low may be detrimental to health, be it sitting or standing. The results cast doubt on the benefits of sit-stand work stations, which employers are increasingly providing to promote healthy working environments."
Researchers analyzed data on 5,132 men and women who were followed for 16 years as part of the Whitehall II Stress and Health Study. The participants, none of whom had cardiovascular disease, provided information on the time they spent sitting each week at work, watching television, leisure time not spent watching television, and at work and leisure time combined.
Over the course of the study, about 450 participants died. Researchers report in the new study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, no associations between the five sitting indicators and mortality risk.
"The results of this study suggest that policy makers and clinicians should be cautious about placing emphasis on sitting behavior as a risk factor for mortality that is distinct from the effect of physical activity," researchers wrote in the study.
