If you spend a long time sitting or relaxing on a couch, you may be taking up to two years off your life. A lazy lifestyle increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity. It can also result in an early death. Many people think they can reduce this risk by exercising. Unfortunately, this might not be true. A new study says exercising (even 60 minutes a day) does not reverse the effect on the length of our life from sitting for a long time.

A team from Toronto University looked at 47 studies on people who kept notes on how long they sat and how much they exercised. The least active people had a 24% greater chance of dying than the active ones. Exercise did not change this. The team advised people to sit down less every day. We should also stand up at our desk, take frequent breaks to stretch, or watch TV standing. This may be better than a gym. It may be "just what the doctor ordered".