Are you sitting comfortably? Well, good. Stay that way. After years of being told that sitting is the enemy - the bringer of an early grave, or at least the cause of irreversible health damage - a new study suggests that actually, having a bit of sit down might not be so bad at all.
The study, carried out at The University of Exeter and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, analysed data from around 5,100 British government employees. They all had office-based jobs, and were asked to report the time they spent sitting during work and leisure time, as well as any walking or exercise they undertook, and were tracked by the researchers for 16 years.
450 participants died during the course of the study, but the researchers found that overall sitting time didn't correlate with a higher incidence of death, even after they controlled for age, gender, diet, general health and socio-economic status. Researchers noted that the reliance on public transport in London, as opposed to driving in the rest of the UK, might have had a protective effect as it encouraged walking.
This is, of course, a very small study, and we're keen to see more research, but the upshot seems to be this: it's not sitting that's bad for you, it's sitting all the time that's bad for you. Any extended period of not moving isn't such a great idea (sorry, standing desks) - it's the sedentary lifestyle itself that kills, not the nice comfy chair.
As co-author Melvyn Hillsdon stated: "Our study overturns current thinking on the health risks of sitting and indicates that the problem lies in the absence of movement rather than the time spent sitting itself. Any stationary posture where energy expenditure is low may be detrimental to health, be it sitting or standing. The results cast doubt on the benefits of sit-stand work stations, which employers are increasingly providing to promote healthy working environments."