21 October 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal

Sedentary behaviours, such as screen viewing, reading and general prolonged sitting can increase a person’s chance of getting type 2 diabetes and increased waist circumference, researchers have found.

A study by academics at Western University in Canada, states that sitting typically in bouts of 20 minutes or more can also increase risk of all-cause mortality.

It suggests that increasing the length and frequency of breaks from sitting and increasing the time spent standing and engaged in light and moderate physical activity are ways to decrease sedentary behaviour. 

The researchers stated that while text message-based interventions [to increase frequency and length of breaks from sitting] had succeeded in aiding smoking cessation and increased both physical activity and healthy eating, they had not been shown to reduce sedentary behaviour.

Increasing Nonsedentary Behaviors in University Students Using Text Messages: Randomized Controlled Trial can be found here.