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If you spend most of the time sitting or stretched out on a couch, you may be taking up to two years off your life. It is well known that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity, and can result in an early death. Many people think they can reduce this risk by walking, playing sports or going to the gym. Unfortunately, this might not be true. A new study just published suggests the effect on the length of our life from sitting for a long time cannot be reversed through exercise. Even 60 minutes of daily exercise may not be enough.

Dr David Alter and his colleagues at Toronto University looked at 47 studies that tracked different people. They all kept notes on how long they sat down and how much they exercised. The least active people had a 24% greater chance of dying than the active ones. This was true even if those who sat a lot also did 60 minutes of daily exercise. Dr Alter advised people to sit down by up to three hours less every day. He said we should stand up at your desk, take frequent breaks to stretch, or watch TV standing. This may be better than a gym, and be "just what the doctor ordered".