Guidelines needed on maximum time we should sit each day

As you hear on a daily basis, the benefits of physical activity for health are well known, whether we achieve it or not is another thing. We also know that physical inactivity is wide-spread, but did you know that on average, adults in Western countries spend between 55% and 70% (9-11hrs) of their day sitting. In a multinational surveillance study published in 2013** involving 49,493 adults aged 18-65 years from 20 developed and developing countries, higher amounts of daily total sitting time were associated with greater risk of heart disease, disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and death, even after adjustment for moderate-to-vigorous levels of physical activity. So we even when we achieve the physical activity guidelines, we need to ensure that we are overall less in active in our day.
Simple things can help such as taking the stairs instead of the lift, cycling to work or a meeting (using the city bikes), getting off the bus a stop early, going for a quick walk at lunchtime etc. can all help reduce our inactivity levels. Find out what works for you and your colleagues and why not start today?
**Chau JY, Grunseit AC, Chey T, Stamatakis E, Brown WJ, et al. (2013) Daily Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE 8(11): e80000. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080000