Sitting less can prolong your life by 2 years: study

Searching for the elixir of life? Stand up! Sitting less than three hours a day may increase your life expectancy by two years, a new study has claimed.

According to the researchers, being sedentary is an independent risk factor and is almost as harmful to health as smoking, a media report said.

This translates into the fact that no matter how much time a person spends in the gym or how many vegetables one consumes, being on your butt for long periods of time every day can shave years off your life, the researchers said.

Sitting for long period is almost as harmful to health as smoking, says study author Peter T Katzmarzyk from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The researchers aren't exactly sure of how being on feet increases your life span, but earlier research has shown that a person's large leg muscles are inactive while seated.

Standing activates these muscles, which helps the body manage blood sugar and metabolise cholesterol, Katzmarzyk said.

Ultimately, this reduces the risk for heart disease.

A few easy ways to get on the feet after a long week at work includes getting off the couch.

Katzmarzyk and his team found that limiting time on the couch in front of the television to less than two hours may extend a person's life by 1.4 years.

Similarly, placing remote near the TV instead of keeping it next to you so that you'll have to get up to get up to change channels during commercials is another means to keep moving.

Keep the cellphone out of sight -- stash it on the opposite side of the room when you get home from work, suggests Manning Sumner, owner of LegacyFit in Miami, Florida, as this will force you to get up in order to answer an incoming text or phone call.

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