Male-specific Study Finds Extended Desk Jobs Lead to Cancer, Diabetes

A study from the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity has confirmed that men who sit at a desk for at least four hours per day have significantly increases risks for developing cancer, diabetes, or other chronic diseases. Considering that over 8 out of 10 jobs in the U.S. are sedentary, this issue is of serious concern to millions of workers on a daily basis. In adding to the mounting evidence of the negative effects of sedentary office work, lead researcher Dr. Richard Rosenkranz of Kansas State University commented on the outcome of the study:

“Office jobs that require long periods of sitting may be hazardous to your health because of low levels of energy expenditure.”

While not definitively proving that sedentary office jobs directly lead to chronic illness, the study, among numerous previous investigations, has demonstrated substantial evidence to support the idea of inactivity as a precursor to disease, even among otherwise active people. Upon measuring the effects of sedentary work on the over 63,000 participating workers, those individuals who sat for at least four hours per day were found to be significantly more at risk for severe illness than those sitting for less than four hours.

Steve Bordley, CEO of the TrekDesk Treadmill Desk company, said, “The evidence is overwhelming that the human body needs physical movement to achieve optimal health. The coal mine has already fallen on the canary. The question is how are we going to respond to protect our health?”