When you’re sitting down, your abdominal muscles go unused, which ultimately leads to a weak midsection. Sitting can also impact the mobility of your hips and the strength of your glutes. Sitting in a chair all day will make your hips tight with a more limited degree of motion because they are rarely extended. Your glutes can weaken with lack of use affecting your stability and power when walking and jumping.

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As stated before, your muscles effectively stop working when you’re sitting down for long periods of time. This means that the body stops burning calories, the enzymes that break down fat drop by about 90 per cent and the risk of diabetes rises. Research conducted recently at the Baker Institute found that people who stood burned 13 per cent more calories than those who sat all day.

When you sit, your muscles burn less fat and your blood begins to flow slowly, allowing fatty acids to easily clog your heart over time. Sitting has been linked to high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease. In addition, your pancreas may over produce insulin, which can lead to diabetes, and studies have linked sitting to a greater risk for developing colon, breast, and endometrial cancers.

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One of the most common and very physical symptoms of living much of your life in a seated position is the presence of back and neck pain. Sitting while working at a computer. for example, leads to strains in your cervical vertebrae, which causes neck strain, sore shoulders, and back pain. The very act of sitting puts added pressure on your back and compresses your spinal discs.

Your brain can become foggy from sitting for too long. Moving around and working your muscles actually pumps fresh blood and oxygen to the brain, which triggers the release of mood-enhancing chemicals. Your brain function will actually slow when you’re sedentary for long periods of time. Try taking a break from your computer every 30 minutes so you can stand and stretch your muscles.

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Studies in women suggest you can lose up to 1 percent of bone mass a year by sitting for over six hours a day. In fact, scientists are partially attributing the recent surge in cases of osteoporosis to lack of activity brought upon by the modern sedentary lifestyle. To counteract this, experts recommend weight-bearing activities such as walking and running that will stimulate hip and lower-body bones to grow thicker, denser and stronger.

Sitting for long periods of time slows blood circulation, which causes fluid to pool in the legs. Problems poor circulation can cause range from swollen ankles and varicose veins to dangerous blood clots called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In makes sense that by moving around all day, fluids that are meant to be moving around your body’s system flow better. When you’re sitting, they don’t – they collect.

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Sitting for over six hours a day for a decade or two can cut away about seven quality-adjusted life years. It increases your risk of dying of heart disease by 64 percent and your overall risk of prostate or breast cancer increases 30 percent, but there are some simple ways you can cut your risk of early death by sitting. Use the stairs at work instead of the lift, move your bin away from your desk so you have to get up to use it and drink more water as going to refill your bottle or taking a bathroom break will minimise your sitting time.

(Text by Caroline Roessler, bauersyndication.com.au / Additional Reporting by Natalya Molok)