公交车司机由于常年坐着开车，患慢性疾病的可能性更大。

华盛顿——您在日常生活中坐的时间越长，患上诸如癌症、糖尿病、心脏病和高血压等慢性疾病的风险就越高。

堪萨斯州立大学（Kansas State University，KSU）与西悉尼大学（University of Western Sydney，UWS）合作开展了一项有63,000多名澳大利亚男性参与的研究，最终得出了上述结论。

这些研究对象向研究人员报告了两方面的情况： 他们平均每天坐着的时间以及与这些常见慢性疾病有关的个人健康状况。

研究结果显示，每天坐着的时间超过四小时的人比坐着的时间少于四小时的人患上这些疾病的可能性要大很多。根据研究对象的报告，坐的时间越久，患上的疾病就越多。例如，每天至少坐六小时的人报告患有糖尿病的可能性要大得多。

堪萨斯州立大学人类营养学助理教授理查德·罗森克兰茨（Richard Rosenkranz）说：“我们发现，研究对象坐得越久，他们患慢性疾病的风险就稳步逐级上升。”他说：“坐着的时间在八小时以上的组群患病的风险显然是最高的。”

他指出，坐办公室的人、职业司机和其他久坐者都应留意这项研究。

罗森克兰茨说：“我们非常肯定，与体力活动少的人相比，体力活动多的人能够更好地预防慢性疾病，但我们还应该考虑减少坐着的时间。”

这项研究侧重于男性，因为他们患糖尿病和心脏病的比例更高。但研究人员认为，在其他性别、种族或民族的成年人口中，这项研究的结果也具有可比性。

虽然这项研究通过实证表明久坐与慢性疾病之间存在联系，但研究人员提醒说，研究并未证明久坐可导致疾病。

参与这项研究的另一个伙伴机构西悉尼大学科学与健康学院（School of Science and Health）的研究员埃玛·乔治（Emma George）说：“这项研究结果表明，如果人们在白天有更多机会走动并减少坐着的时间，那么他们的整体健康状况可能会得到改善。”

乔治补充说：“人们应该考虑能将身体活动融入日常工作的方式。或许可以安排‘活动’会议而不是电话会议，或在午休时间四处走动而不是坐在办公桌旁。”

这项研究是在总统公告指定的“美国心脏月”（American Heart Month）期间发布的。政府和私营部门的卫生组织每年都利用“美国心脏月”来提高公众对心血管疾病的意识，心血管疾病是美国和世界各地导致早亡的头号“杀手”。卫生官员呼吁公民对自身健康负责，并养成可降低患心脏病风险的习惯。

一些美国公司已经尝试在高架办公桌旁配置跑步机，让员工可以一边工作一边平稳走步。支持这种做法的人说，体力活动和体内循环的加快有助于保持大脑清醒和思维敏捷。但这种尝试因种种实用性考虑而中断。例如，摔倒时有发生，而且员工穿的鞋往往不适合走跑步机。

健身器材厂商正在生产各种跑步机办公桌。其他一些公司则允许在办公时坐在大型健身球和类似器材上。这些器材要求一个人保持坐姿并收紧腹部，这样才能一直都坐直。不过，根据报道，选择这种“椅子”也会发生意外。

堪萨斯州立大学和西悉尼大学合作开展的这项研究是“45岁及45岁以上群体”（45 and Up）研究项目的一部分，该项目是澳大利亚最大的一个有关衰老研究的长期项目，涉及267,000多人。这项研究结果已在《行为营养与身体活动国际期刊》（International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity）上发布。

Bus drivers may be more likely to develop chronic diseases as the result of years spent seated at the wheel.

Washington — The longer you sit in routine daily activities, the greater is your risk of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Kansas State University (KSU) collaborated with the University of Western Sydney (UWS) in a study involving more than 63,000 Australian men to reach that finding.

Study participants reported two things to the researchers: the amount of time they spent seated in an average day and the state of their health with regard to these common chronic diseases.

Those who sat for more than four hours per day were significantly more likely to have one of the diseases under study than those who sat for fewer than four hours. The more time the study subjects reported they were seated, the more disease they reported. Those sitting for at least six hours per day were significantly more likely to report having diabetes, for example.

“We saw a steady stair-step increase in risk of chronic diseases the more participants sat,” said Richard Rosenkranz, assistant professor of human nutrition at KSU. “The group sitting more than eight hours clearly had the highest risk.”

Office workers, professional drivers and others spending hours in a chair should be mindful of the research, he said.

“We know with very high confidence that more physically active people do better with regard to chronic disease compared with less physically active people, but we should also be looking at reducing sitting,” Rosenkranz said.

This study focused on men because they have higher rates of diabetes and heart disease, but the researchers think the results would be comparable in adult populations of other genders, races or ethnicity.

While this evidence suggests a connection between prolonged sitting and chronic disease, the researchers caution that the study does not prove that sitting causes disease.

“The results of this study suggest that there is potential for people to improve their overall health if they found more opportunities to move around during the day and reduce the amount of time spent sitting,” said Emma George, a researcher from the UWS School of Science and Health who was also a partner in the work.

“People should consider ways that they can integrate movement into their daily routines. Perhaps arranging ‘active’ meetings rather than a teleconference, or walk around during your lunch break rather than sitting at your desk,” George added.

The study is published during American Heart Month, so designated by presidential proclamation. Government and private sector health organizations use the occasion each year to boost public awareness about the dangers of cardiovascular disease, the Number 1 cause of premature death in the United States and worldwide. Health officials urge citizens to take responsibility for their own health and develop habits that reduce their risk of heart disease.

Some U.S. companies have experimented with positioning treadmills at elevated desks allowing workers to maintain a steady walk as they work. The physical activity and the increase in circulation it brings work to keep the brain alert and stimulated, according to proponents. Practical considerations have cut short the trials. Falls have occurred, for example, and workers often aren’t wearing proper shoes for a treadmill.

Exercise equipment manufacturers are producing a variety of treadmill desks. Other companies allow use of large exercise balls and similar equipment for desk seating. These devices require a person to maintain posture and abdominal tension to remain upright. But accidents have also occurred with this chair choice, according to reports.

The KSU-UWS research is part of the “45 and Up” study, the largest long-term study of aging in Australia, involving more than 267,000 people. The results have been published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.