Is Sitting A New Smoking? This Myth Needs To Be Dispelled

Is sitting a new smoking? This myth needs to be dispelled

Countless publications in recent years have argued that "sitting is the new smoking." From 2012 to 2016, the number of media materials devoted to this topic increased 12 times. However, an international team of researchers, based on the analysis of scientific data, denied this statement. The consequences of smoking are more disastrous.

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Countless publications in recent years have argued that "sitting is the new smoking." From 2012 to 2016, the number of media materials devoted to this topic increased 12 times. Moreover, some respected academic and clinical institutions are also involved in spreading this myth.

However, an international team of researchers, based on the analysis of scientific data, denied this statement. Published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Researchers from Canada, the United States and Australia have dismissed misleading claims that the health hazards associated with prolonged sitting equate to smoking cigarettes.

Studies have shown that excessive sitting (eight or more hours a day) increases the risk of premature death and certain chronic diseases by 10-20%, but these numbers pale in comparison to the risks associated with smoking cigarettes. Statistics show that smoking increases the risk of premature death from any cause by about 180%.

“The simple fact is that smoking is one of the greatest public health disasters of the last century. Sitting isn't, and you can't compare the pair,”says Dr. Terry Boyle, an epidemiologist at the University of South Australia and one of the research team members.

First, the risks of chronic illness and premature death associated with smoking significantly outweigh the risks of prolonged sitting. Sedentary people have a 10-20% higher risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases, while smokers are more than twice as likely to die from cancer and cardiovascular disease and lung cancer is more than 1000%.

Second, the economic impact and the number of deaths due to diseases associated with smoking far outnumber those associated with prolonged sitting. For example, the annual global costs of smoking-related illness are estimated at US $ 467 billion (2012). Smoking is expected to lead to at least one billion deaths in the 21st century.

Finally, unlike smoking, sitting is not an addiction or hazard to others.

“Equating the risk of sitting with smoking is clearly unreasonable and misleading, and only serves to minimize the risks associated with smoking,” concludes Terry Boyle.