Are you putting yourself at risk for diabetes by sitting too much?
According to what I've heard, sitting for seven hours a day can cause diabetes in women. Is this correct? Is there anything I can do to avoid diabetes if that's the case? I'm quite sure I spend at least seven hours a day at my desk.
Sitting for up to seven hours a day may raise the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in January 2012. Over 500 men and women aged 40 and older were studied by researchers from the University of Leicester in England to see how much time they spend sitting over the course of a week. Women who spent the most time sitting had higher levels of insulin, C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker), and other inflammation-related substances in their blood, according to blood tests. Increased levels of all of these markers are linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
The same telltale indicators were not observed in men or women who sat for shorter periods of time in the study. (Effects of sitting for seven hours were seen in women who sat for this long but also exercised for 30 minutes each day.)
The researchers couldn't explain why the increased risks were only detected in women, but they theorised that women might nibble more while sitting and males would be more active when they did get up and move. The findings of this study are comparable to those of an Australian study published in May 2011 in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, which found that seniors who spent the most time watching television had a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. A total of 1,958 men and women aged 60 and up took part in the Australian study. Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke are all greatly increased by metabolic syndrome.
Being overweight and inactive are linked to type 2 diabetes. If you're overweight, losing weight is the best strategy to minimise your risk, and doing more activity is the best way to meet weight objectives. I recommend sticking to my anti-inflammatory diet and avoiding meals with a high glycemic index (GI), which is a measure of how quickly the body converts carbohydrates into glucose, triggering an insulin response and eventually insulin resistance, which is the characteristic of type 2 diabetes. Keep in mind that glycemic load (GL), which is calculated by multiplying the glycemic index by the amount of carbs consumed, is more directly related to your dietary choices.
