Prolonged Sitting Increases Cancer Death Risk, Study Finds

A study of more than 91,000 participants from the UK Biobank, followed for an average of 12 years, found that continuous periods of sitting or reclining for longer than 30 minutes are linked to a higher risk of dying from cancer. Each additional hour of uninterrupted inactivity was associated with a roughly 10% increase in cancer‑related mortality.

Replacing sedentary time with physical activity reduced the risk: one hour of light activity such as slow walking or household chores lowered risk by 12%; 30 minutes of moderate activity lowered it by 8%; and just five minutes of vigorous exercise cut the risk by 22%.

Lead author Dr Frederick Ho of the University of Glasgow emphasized the findings, saying “what our data shows is that sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time is particularly linked to a higher risk of cancer” and “the good news is that breaking up your sitting time with something as simple as a short walk could be protective.”

The research, published in PLOS Medicine, suggests that frequent short breaks from prolonged sitting may be an important, easily achievable public‑health measure.