Written by Xantha Leatham, Deputy Science Editor, Daily Mail
September 12, 2023 15:59, updated September 12, 2023 16:47
- If you sit all day long, you are more likely to develop dementia.
- Experts say the risk increases the longer you work at a desk or drive a car.
- Read more: Texas high school girl, 7, diagnosed with dementia
Research suggests that spending more than 10 hours a day sitting in front of the TV or driving a car increases the risk of dementia.
Researchers have found that adults who spend most of their day in sedentary behavior are dramatically more likely to develop this condition.
A team from the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona analyzed data from more than 50,000 British adults aged 60 and over.
They wore the device on their wrist 24 hours a day for a week. These devices monitored activity levels and were able to differentiate between sitting and sleeping.
Watching TV and driving a car are common sedentary activities, but other activities include playing video games, using a computer, sitting on the commute to work, and sitting at a desk at work. It will be.
Participants were followed for approximately six years, during which time 414 were diagnosed with dementia.
The analysis found that sitting for more than 10 hours a day increases the risk of disease.
People who spent 10 hours a day sitting were 8% more likely to develop dementia than those who spent nearly 9 hours a day sitting.
Meanwhile, those who spent 12 hours a day sitting were 63% more likely to be diagnosed, and those who sat for 15 hours a day were three times more likely to be diagnosed.
Study author Professor Jean Alexander said: “Regardless of how sedentary time accumulates, we find that the risk of dementia starts to increase rapidly after 10 hours of sitting each day. I was surprised.”
“This suggests that it is the total time spent sedentary that drives the relationship between sedentary behavior and dementia risk.
“Importantly, low levels of sedentary behavior of up to 10 hours were not associated with increased risk.”
The study, published in the journal Jama Network Open, looked at how sedentary behaviors accumulate over the course of a day, such as sitting for long periods of time before engaging in activities, or standing up in the middle of sitting. , also revealed a similar relationship. For dementia.
Professor David Reichlen, who was also involved in the study, said: “Many of us follow the general advice of getting up every 30 minutes or so and walking around to stand or walk around for long periods of time. I know it very well,” he added.
“We found that the length of individual sitting periods was less important when considering the total time spent sitting.”
