Breast cancer is linked to prolonged periods of sitting done most days of the week.
For this study, other variables were adjusted for like physical activity and body mass index, and the results still came out as follows:
A higher risk of breast cancer the more a woman spends time sitting.
Alpa Patel, PhD, headed the study that looked at the leisure sitting time in 77,462 women and 69,260 men who did not have cancer. The time spanned 1992 to 2009.
The full report appears in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 2015.
How can a woman reduce her daily sitting time?
ANY sitting time that’s reduced counts towards a lower risk of disease including cancer.
So if a woman sits all day at work, what can she do?
Get a Treadmill Desk
If you spend a good amount of time at home on a computer, a treadmill desk will reduce significant sitting time.
Or, if it’s placed before the TV, you can reduce sitting time while watching your favorite shows.
Even if you spend only small amounts of time at home on a computer or watching TV, walking during that time will go towards reducing your chances of getting the “sitting disease.” It will lower your risk of breast cancer.
You may also want to explore the possibility of using a treadmill desk at your workplace.
I’ve been using a treadmill desk for many years now for home computer use, and believe me, it really does make a difference. You’ll get used to it faster than you think.
No Treadmill Desk?
If that’s not an option, then just simply get up every 45 minutes from the computer and stay on your feet for five minutes.
- Do yoga
- Throw some kicks
- Do mountain climbers or squats
- March in place
- Play with the dog
- Water the plants
- Stand while going through the snail mail
Perhaps you can combine workplace duties with these on-your-feet breaks.
If you can’t get a treadmill desk for home use, then pace as you watch TV: forward and back, side to side, or do some Zumba or standing yoga moves, jumping in place, squats, lunges — whatever goes.
Excessive sitting, for whatever reason, has been associated with breast cancer. That’s enough to get moving more.
