What does a sedentary lifestyle lead to?

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Being inactive for more than 10 hours a day at age 60 and older may put you at risk of developing a debilitating condition.

Between commuting to work and relaxing in front of the TV, you probably spend a significant portion of your day sitting. If you have an office job, you're likely spending even more time sitting.

However, a new study has found that too much time spent inactive can significantly increase the risk of developing dementia.

The research team found that older adults who sat or were inactive for more than 10 hours a day were more likely to develop the mind-depleting condition.

“What’s worrying is that it didn’t matter whether participants were inactive for long periods of time or intermittently throughout the day, as both had an impact on dementia risk,” says the neurologist.

After studying data from more than 49,000 people aged 60 and older, the researchers advised participants to wear wrist-based activity trackers.

The team then classified different types of movement, including sleeping and sitting, using a type of artificial intelligence known as machine learning algorithms. The cohort was free of dementia at the start of the study and was followed for more than six years. However, 414 participants developed dementia during the study.

After adjusting for factors such as diet, age, alcohol consumption and others, the researchers found that prolonged inactivity was associated with an increased risk of brain disease.

“Inactivity lasting less than 10 hours was not associated with a higher risk of dementia, providing “some reassurance for those of us who work in an office and are expected to sit for long periods of time,” the researchers note.

The researchers were surprised to find that dementia risk began to rise rapidly after 10 hours of sedentary time each day, regardless of how much sedentary time was accumulated.

“This suggests that it is the total time spent sitting that determines the relationship between sedentary behavior and dementia risk, but importantly, lower levels of sedentary behavior up to about 10 hours were not associated with increased risk.”

Given the importance of taking breaks from prolonged sitting with movement, the research team wanted to see if these types of patterns were associated with dementia risk.

They found that when total time was taken into account, conducted in a sedentary manner, the length of individual life periods does not matter much.

While the study provides some interesting results, the authors add that more research is needed to see whether physical activity can reduce the risk of dementia.