Is too much sitting bad for your health?

Objective assessment of free-living physical activity and sedentary in the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)

Many of us spend a lot of time sitting down, either sitting at a desk, driving or watching TV. But it is important to get active - physical activity reduces the risk of many diseases including heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Despite these obvious benefits, the exact relationship between exercise, sitting for prolonged periods and health is still unclear. A group of people who are participants in a large British study may help us find the answers. The 1970 British Cohort Study has followed the lives of over 17,000 people born in the UK in a single week in 1970, collecting information on health, social and economic circumstances. As of 2016, the BCS70 study members will be 46 years old and 9300 participants will be visited in their homes by a nurse for an in--depth medical assessment. Dr Hamer and his team will collect a blood sample, record height and weight and ask about medical conditions. This BHF project will enable Dr Hamer to measure physical activity in the cohort. He will attach a small device to each participant to accurately measure levels of physical activity, including time sitting down, standing up and moving over a week. He will also measure cholesterol and fat levels in the blood that could predict if a person is at risk of heart disease and diabetes. The results will be compared with previous measures of activity and linked to future health This research will reveal more about how physical activity affects our health and how people maintain an active lifestyle throughout life. The results will help us shape health campaigns to encourage people to become more active.