Why sitting all day may shorten your life

Uninterrupted sitting is bad for your heart, joints, muscles, metabolism and mental health

NEW YORK - People have all heard that sitting too long is bad for you. You are not evolved to do it; it can undermine exercise gains and it causes dead butt syndrome. Sitting might not quite be "the new smoking," but too much of it can still shorten your life.

"Sitting is actually aging you faster," said Ms. Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and author of My Perfect Movement Plan. Whether it is bone or joint health, muscle mass or energy level, she added, "a lot of what you perceive as aging is going to be heavily influenced by your sitting time."

And people spend a lot of time sitting. Numbers vary around how much average Americans sit a day, but it may be as long as 9 1/2 hours. Studies suggest women sit less than men do, but most agree people now all sit more than previous generations did.

The consequences can be serious. A study published at the beginning of 2024 followed 480,000 people in Taiwan older than 13 and found that those who sit most of the work day had a 34 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those with less sedentary jobs did—and a 16 percent higher risk of mortality overall.

One way to lower the risk, the authors wrote, was to add 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity a day to your existing routine. Other studies go further, suggesting sedentary people need to double the standard weekly exercise recommendations.

"The bottom line is that too much sitting is a big new health risk," said Professor Neville Owen, a senior scientist at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.