Long sitting increases the type 2 diabetes risk

People who sit a lot tend to develop diabetes
Many people in Germany spend most of the day sitting. Whether at work or at home, we do not move enough and sit very much. Thus, negative consequences for our body can arise. If we sit for a long time, our risk of developing type 2 diabetes is also increasing, scientists from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands now claim.

Do you belong to the persons who sit all day long? If you sit for a long time at work and do not exercise much later at home, you may want to check with your doctor. Scientists from the Netherlands have now discovered that the risk of type 2 diabetes increases when we sit for a long time every day. The researchers published the results of their study in the journal "Diabetologia".

Long sitting leads to a significantly increased risk of diabetes. (Image: witthaya / fotolia.com)

Diabetes can damage the heart and kidneys and lead to amputations
At the present time, most people do not move well enough. Many sit in the office all day at work and when they get home, they are exhausted from work and just want to relax - often sitting on the sofa in front of the TV. However, all sitting could have negative consequences for our health, warn the scientists from the University of Maastricht. Even if you do exercise, sitting for hours at a time could still increase your risk for Type 2 diabetes. Every additional hour in a sitting position, whether office work or lounging on a lounger, increases the likelihood of type 2 diabetes, the researchers explain in their study. Diabetes causes your blood sugar level to rise sharply. Left untreated, the disease can be heart and kidney-related, cause blindness, and even lead to amputations.

Sport and exercise do not protect against the consequences of sitting
Basically, people with diabetes spend more time sitting - about 26 minutes more per day compared to people without diabetes, says senior researcher Julianne van der Berg from the University of Maastricht. The current results would only show that there is a link between prolonged sitting and type 2 diabetes, but no precise conclusions on cause and effect could be found, the Dutch physician. Physical activity is generally important to our health and the study clearly shows that sitting is bad for us, according to Julianne van der Berg. The more you sit, the higher the risk of Type 2 diabetes increases. And regardless of how much sport you do, warns the expert. The high prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide and the long time we spend every day sitting confirm the importance of the current study, the researchers add. Inactivity and diet are known to be factors that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Not only does it not only increase the time we spend in front of the TV or computer that increases our risk of diabetes, but snacks consumed along the way may also play a role.

Study examines 2,500 subjects on their sitting habits
For the current study, the researchers collected the data from nearly 2,500 subjects whose average age was 60 years. All subjects were part of a population-based study in the Netherlands. To measure the sitting time spent, the subjects carried for eight days accelerometer, the researchers report. During the study, the scientists calculated the daily sitting time, the number of pauses in sitting, longer sitting periods (30 minutes and more), and the average length of sitting periods spent sitting.

In addition, the participants were also the blood sugar controlled, explain the doctors. They found that 56 percent of the participants had normal blood sugar. Fifteen percent had elevated blood sugar and 29 percent of subjects had type 2 diabetes. On average, people with type 2 diabetes were the longest in the study. Those affected spent more time sitting, than people with elevated or normal blood sugar levels. The results of the study show that people with already elevated diabetes risk should avoid sitting much - regardless of the amount of their other physical activity. In general, sitting time should be minimized as far as the risk of diabetes is concerned. (As)