Exercise in the office reduces ‘risk of premature death’

Exercise in the office for at least an hour a day can combat the deadly risk of modern working lifestyles, a Lancet study has found.

Research on more than one million working adults found that sitting for at least eight hours a day at a desk could increase the risk of premature death by up to 60 per cent.

Scientists said sedentary lifestyles were now posing as great a threat to public health as smoking, and were causing more deaths than obesity.

Michelle Hay, who runs Michelle Hay training, describes bad office practice as ‘slow accidents’ that develop over a long period of time.

Michelle said: “People who sit down for the majority of their day, are at risk of many health problems in the future.

“There are many things that workers can do to avoid future problems. Just walking around the outside of the building at lunchtime every day is an easy way to make a difference.”

The Lancet report urged anyone spending hours at their desk to change their daily routine to take a five minute break every hour, as well as exercise at lunchtimes and evenings.

An hour of brisk walking or cycling spread over a day was enough to combat the dangers of eight hours sitting in the office, they said. Currently, public health advice in the UK recommends just half this level of activity.

Lead scientist Professor Ulf Ekelund, from Cambridge University and the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, said: “We found that at least one hour of physical activity per day, for example brisk walking or bike cycling, eliminates the association between sitting time and death.”