Researchers from the University of Sydney examined the lifestyle patterns of 231, 048 participants. The aim of the study was to determine the most likely risk behaviours that are contributing to premature deaths in middle-aged and older adults. Poor diet, prolonged sitting, smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy sleep duration were the habits highlighted in the questionnaire.
15, 600 deaths were recorded in the course of the 6 year study. Out of the 96 possible risk combinations, the 30 most commonly occurring combinations accounted for more than 90 percent of the participants. The findings revealed the following:
•A person who oversleeps (more than nine hours a night), over-sits (more than seven hours a day), and under-exercises (less than 150 minutes each week) is more than four times as likely to die early compared to someone who doesn’t practice these habits.
•A person who smokes, has a high alcohol intake, and lacks in the sleep department (less than seven hours a night) is also four times more likely to pass away before their time.
These two-step unhealthy actions were linked to doubling the risk of an early death.
•Being physically inactive and getting too much sleep
•Being physically inactive and sitting too much
•Smoking and high alcohol intake
According to lead author Melody Ding; “Evidence has increased in recent years to show that too much sitting is bad for you and there is growing understanding about the impact of sleep on our health, but this is the first study to look at how those things might act together,”
When you add a lack of exercise into the mix, you get a type of ‘triple whammy’ effect. Our study shows that we should really be taking these behaviors together as seriously as we do other risk factors such as levels of drinking and unhealthy eating patterns.” He said.
The World Health Organization estimates that 3.3 million people die yearly around the world due to physical inactivity, making it the fourth leading underlying cause of mortality.
Lying and sitting too much are affecting your life more than you can imagine.
The study was published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
S.O.Z