‘Exercise can cancel out deadly effect of desk work’

An hour of moderate physical activity per day is enough to cancel out the deadly effect of sitting behind an office desk or watching TV, research has shown.

Scientists who analysed data on 1m men and women found that sitting for more than eight hours a day without taking exercise significantly increased the risk of dying early.

People in this group, who include many thousands of office workers, were up to 60% more likely to die prematurely than more active and less sedentary individuals. Heart and artery disease and cancer were the two most likely causes of death linked to an inactive lifestyle.