This Daily Habit Makes Sitting Less Risky

Take a Seat: How many times have you heard that sitting is the new smoking? A hundred times? A thousand? Desk jockeys may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Research found that increasing your daily step count can reduce the risk of heart disease and death — even for people who are chair-bound a lot of the time.

The Study: Researchers analyzed data from more than 72,000 participants from the UK Biobank database. Participants wore a wrist accelerometer for a week, which tracked their step count and sedentary time. Later, the researchers reviewed hospital records and death registries over seven years to determine their health outcomes.

The Takeaway: The most significant reduction in risk came in those who had between 9,000 and 10,000 steps per day: risk of death decreased by 39% and risk of cardiovascular disease by 21%. Even those who walked less benefited. People with 4,000 to 4,500 daily steps had about half of the total risk reduction. What’s most fascinating, though, is that the benefits of walking appeared regardless of sedentary time. 

Keep In Mind: This was a large observational study, so it didn’t find causation. The researchers also cautioned it’s not a free pass to lounge more but rather a tool to offset existing sitting time.