A study recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology may mean bad news for writers. The study analyzed the relationship between time spent sitting, physical activity, and mortality. About 50,000 women and 70,000 men participated. The subjects were free of disease at the time of enrollment in the study and their level of physical activity and time spent sitting were gauged by questionnaire. The authors of the study followed the subjects for 14 years recording a total of about 11,000 deaths in the men and 8000 deaths in the women.
The authors found that the least active of the women and men that also sat for more than 6 hours a day, were 94% and 48%, respectively, more likely to die compared to the most active women and men that also sat more than 6 hrs a day. In other words, physical activity decreases your chance of dying. However, the authors also found that, physical activity being equal, women and men that spent 6 or more hours a day sitting were 35% and 18%, respectively, more likely to die compared to those that sat for less than 3 hours a day. The cause of death that was associated the strongest with the mortality was cardiovascular disease.
So like other previous studies, this study confirmed, that physical activity decreases your odds of dying. However, the novel finding is that sitting more than 6 hours a day, regardless of your level of physical activity, can increase your odds of dying compared to people with a similar level of physical activity that sit for less than 3 hours a day. In other words, time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality.
Since we writers spend a lot of time sitting down this may mean we are at increased risk of dying.
But such are the risks we take for the pleasures that come with the act of creation.
The authors found that the least active of the women and men that also sat for more than 6 hours a day, were 94% and 48%, respectively, more likely to die compared to the most active women and men that also sat more than 6 hrs a day. In other words, physical activity decreases your chance of dying. However, the authors also found that, physical activity being equal, women and men that spent 6 or more hours a day sitting were 35% and 18%, respectively, more likely to die compared to those that sat for less than 3 hours a day. The cause of death that was associated the strongest with the mortality was cardiovascular disease.
So like other previous studies, this study confirmed, that physical activity decreases your odds of dying. However, the novel finding is that sitting more than 6 hours a day, regardless of your level of physical activity, can increase your odds of dying compared to people with a similar level of physical activity that sit for less than 3 hours a day. In other words, time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality.
Since we writers spend a lot of time sitting down this may mean we are at increased risk of dying.
But such are the risks we take for the pleasures that come with the act of creation.
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