Another Strike Against Sitting Too Much: Dementia Risk

New study raises a warning for those 60 and older who sit for 10 or more per day
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 28, 2023 1:55 PM CDT
Another Strike Against Sitting Too Much: Dementia Risk
   (Getty/PeopleImages)

Researchers have been warning for a while that sitting for most of the day is not good for our physical health. A new study in JAMA suggests it may specifically hurt our brain health, too. Researchers found that people 60 and older who sat for 12 hours a day or more had a 63% greater risk of developing dementia, reports the Washington Post. Those who cut that time to 10 hours still saw an 8% greater risk than those who sat less than that. The data came from about 50,000 people in the UK Biobank who were 60 or older and did not have a dementia diagnosis when the study began, per Medical News Today. They wore "accelerometers" to allow researchers to track their movement for years.

"Sitting in the office all day, then in front of the TV and in the car and all the other ways we find to sit, it adds up," says David Raichlen of the University of Southern California, who led the study. "These extreme levels of sedentary behavior are where we see a much higher risk" for dementia. Previous studies have suggested as much, but "the current study is one of the very largest," adds Carolyn Fredericks of the Yale School of Medicine.

Another worrisome finding is that those who exercise when they are not sitting still appear to be at risk. The recommendation then? "Sit less, move more," says Raichlen, and that applies even to those who have sedentary jobs. Think "walking meetings" and the like—activities that reduce sitting within allotted work hours. But if people still end up sitting for 10 or more hours no matter how many walking breaks are taken, the benefits might be negated. It's also not clear whether standing desks have an effect, because it can be hard for researchers to detect a difference between those sitting still and standing still. (More dementia stories.)

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