Sitting for too long affects the health of the elderly

Sitting for too long can seriously affect the daily activities of people over the age of 60, including those who still exercise regularly on a daily basis.

This is the result of research by US scientists published on February 19 in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.

The study was conducted for 2,286 Americans over 60 years of age, showing that people of this age usually sit about 9 hours a day, equivalent to 2/3 of their waking time.

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The longer your sitting time, the more likely it is that your activity or movement will be difficult, and every hour the risk increases by 50%. Specifically, a 65-year-old woman sitting 12 hours a day will have 6% risk of having difficulty eating, dressing, bathing and walking. If the sitting time increases to 13 hours / day, the risks will increase to 9%.

According to the study, prolonged sitting habits in older people increase the risk of heart failure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and death from cancer. Meanwhile, sitting under 3 hours a day will increase the average life expectancy by two years.

Therefore, the team recommends that older people reduce sitting time, whether sitting in front of a television or computer screen.