Many New Yorkers Are Sitting More Each Day, Study Suggests

New findings published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease reveal that despite mass transportation and wide stretches of areas to walk through, including parks, many New Yorkers are living predominately sedentary lives.

Researchers at New York University found that despite the fact that these residents live in one of the most walkable nations, many are sitting for up to 7 hours a day.

"Although more information is accumulating about the dangerous health effects of sitting -- even if you exercise regularly -- few studies have actually quantified how much time people spend in this position," Stella S. Yi, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of population health at NYU Langone, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers analyzed information from the City DOH's Physical Activity and Transit Survey, which looked at close to 4,000 adults across all five boroughs via telephone in 2010 and 201.

Findings revealed that individuals who were typically more sedentary were also at an increased risk of heart disease and other health issues, with a life expectancy reduced from a sitting time of three hours per day. On the other hand, those who regularly exercised but were still regularly sedentary had a great risk of certain health issues.

"Interventions for decreasing sitting time in the worksite and home are needed to improve health outcomes across all groups -- not just those identified as having the longest sitting times," Yi concluded.

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