A recent study was published in “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention” that shows there is an increased risk of cancer for  women who sit too much during their leisure time. This is the latest study showing that the so called “sitting disease” negatively impacts our health.

Though it may seem obvious that sitting too much is bad for your health, the risks are far worse than just needing exercise. This recent study conducted on 184,000 adults had participants answer a questionnaire about their work, exercise, activities, chores, TV watching habits, as well as computer, and other electronics used while sitting. The study followed the 69,260 men for around 13 years and the 77,462 women for around 16 years. Then compared their behaviors to their health.

The women who sat more than six hours a day had a 10 percent greater risk of getting any cancer compared to ladies who sat for less than three hours per day. For women sitting for more than six hours daily had a 65 percent increased risk for multiple myeloma, a 10 percent increased risk for invasive breast cancer, and a 43 percent higher risk for ovarian cancer than their peers sitting for three hours or less.

Men, in general, did not have an increased risk of cancer. However, the study did find that obese men who sat for long periods of time experienced an 11 percent higher risk of cancer.

Have you heard “sitting is the new smoking?”  That’s because sitting raises the risk of not just cancer, but disability, diabetes, heart disease and, of course, obesity.

Another study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute revealed some specific numbers on the different types of cancer that might be associated with too much sitting. This study claims for every two hours spent sitting in front of the computer or television, the average person raises his or her risk of colon cancer by 8 percent, of endometrial cancer by 10 percent and of lung cancer by 6 percent.

Stay healthy, reduce your risk of cancer, get up and get moving. Call your doctor to help you with an exercise plan or advise you on how you can specifically reduce your risk. In the mean time, get up and get moving.

Stay tuned for more news from Mid Florida Cancer Centers.