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Adverse effects of sedentary behaviors on health outcomes are well known, but what are the effects on life expectancy? Investigators used data from five prospective cohort studies and from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to estimate the effect of sitting and television viewing on life expectancy at birth in the U.S. population.
The pooled relative risks for all-cause mortality associated with sitting for 3 to 5 hours or for ≥6 hours daily were 18% and 45% higher, respectively, than that for sitting <3 hours daily. Watching television for 2 to 3.9 hours or ≥4 hours daily conferred similar excess risk (compared with watching TV for <2 hours daily). The health burden (or population-attributable fraction) determined…