Spending long periods of time sitting can affect our health in many ways. Research shows that too much sitting is linked to a higher risk of conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease.

Even if you exercise regularly, it’s still important to break up long periods of sitting throughout the day.

How much sitting is too much?

Adults spend an average of 9 hours a day sitting or lying down. According to the evidence, sitting less than 8 hours a day has health benefits, including for the liver.

Of course we can’t always help sitting. We sit on the way to work, many of us sit in front of a screen all day, and then we carry on sitting when we get home.

The key is to break up all that sitting and take regular breaks.

How can I sit less?

Here are some tips for breaking up your sitting time:

• Use a standing desk, or stand when you’re in a meeting or on a phone call
• Take regular breaks from TV by walking around the house every ad break
• Stand and stretch every 30 minutes at work. Instead of messaging your colleagues, walk over and talk to them.
• If you use public transport, stand and offer your seat to someone else.
• Take regular breaks on long car trips and have a walk around.
• Swap some sitting time for light activities like gardening or housework

Move more

To help your fatty liver disease, the guidelines say you should aim for 150 to 240 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise each week.

But that doesn’t have to be dedicated time in the gym. There are many ways you can add more movement into your day. Every minute you move is an extra minute you can add to your goal.

Here are other ways you can build more exercise into your day.

• Get up half an hour early and go for a walk
• Use public transport rather than the car
• Go for a walking meeting with colleagues
• Plan social activities around something active
• Use your lunch break to be active
• Park further away from the shops and walk
• Get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way
• Swap an hour of TV for an hour of gardening or another physical activity
• Use the stairs rather than the lift when you can
• If you can’t walk, then exercise in your chair – lift your knees, circle your arms or punch your fists

Track your progress

You’re more likely to meet your goal and maintain it if you monitor your movement.

Simply writing down every time you get some movement will help. We’ve put together a simple habit tracker that can help get you started.

You can also use your mobile phone, an app, a pedometer or a website to help you.

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