By John Salak –
People are actually killing themselves for a seat. Millennials, those now between 28 and 49, are at particular risk thanks to long commutes, video conference-packed workdays and evenings of streaming and scrolling. Extended sitting is a rising risk, contributing to this dangerous lifestyle pattern.
These individuals spend on average more than 60 hours a week sitting, raising their risk of heart disease and accelerating other signs of aging, according to joint research from the University of Colorado—Boulder and the University of California–Riverside.
The findings were based on data drawn from more than 1,000 former or current Colorado residents, including 730 twins. The study claims to be the first to explore how prolonged sitting impacts health measures such as cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) in young adults.
Not only did the research reveal the dangers of sedentary behavior, it also discovered that meeting the minimum recommended physical activity guidelines—about 20 minutes per day of moderate exercise—isn’t enough to counter the hazards of spending most waking hours in a seat.
“Our research suggests that sitting less throughout the day, getting more vigorous exercise, or a combination of both may be necessary to reduce the risk of premature aging in early adulthood,” reported the study’s senior author Chandra Reynolds, a professor at CU, Boulder.
The study’s focus stems from a reflection by first author Ryan Bruellman, a doctoral candidate at UC Riverside. He noted that after the Covid pandemic, people were sitting for longer periods than before the medical emergency hit.
“Young adults tend to think they are impervious to the impacts of aging. They figure, ‘My metabolism is great, I don’t have to worry until I’m in my 50s or 60s,'” said Bruellman. “But what you do during this critical time of life matters.”
On average, study participants reported sitting almost 9 hours daily, with some sitting as much as 16 hours. They reported between 80 and 160 minutes of moderate physical activity on average weekly and less than 135 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly.
The researchers noted that these activity levels are likely better than national averages due to Colorado’s active lifestyle. Despite this, they found that the more an individual sat, the older a person looked. A little moderate activity daily did little to buffer these impacts.
Two key measures of heart and metabolic aging were used in the research: total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein and body mass index (BMI).
With these data points in hand, the researchers reported that young adults who sat 8.5 hours per day and performed at or below current exercise recommendations could enter a “moderate to high risk” category for cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
“Taking a quick walk after work may not be enough,” said Reynolds. “While this is increasingly apparent with age, we show that associations are already emerging in early adulthood.”
The good news is that adding vigorous activity did help reduce health risks. Those who exercised vigorously–running or cycling for 30 minutes daily—recorded cholesterol and BMI measures that mirrored individuals five to 10 years younger who sat as much as they did but didn’t exercise.
But even vigorous activity could not fully buffer the negative impacts of prolonged sitting, the study concluded. When looking at a subset of twins with different sitting and physical activity habits, the researchers found that replacing sitting with exercise seemed to work better to improve cholesterol than simply adding exercise to a full day of sitting.
Ultimately, the research suggested that embracing both options was the most effective way to offset the impact of extended sitting.
Examples include using a standing desk, partaking in exercise snacks, taking breaks and organizing walking meetings to reduce sitting time at work. Activity that pushes metabolic rates for at least 30 minutes per day is also particularly effective.
Equally important is the need for young adults to take proactive steps now that will shape their future. Considering Millennials make up more than 20 percent of the nation’s population, these potential health risks could have wide-ranging national impacts. “This is the time to build habits that will benefit health over the long term,” Reynolds explained.
