New research conducted by the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network and Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences has found that individuals who are too sedentary, regardless of how much they exercise, are at a greater risk of developing cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

When senior author of the research, Dr. Alter, began the study he and his colleagues were aware that too much sitting time is bad for one’s health, but they had no clue that sedentary and exercise time are two distinct factors that have an effect on health outcomes.

During a phone interview with Reuters Dr. Alter said, “what we didn’t know was whether the sitting time and health relationship was because people were also exercising poorly… these are two distinct factors [exercise and sitting time], we need both, we need exercise and need to be sitting less.”

During the study researchers analyzed 47 studies which tracked and recorded the average amount of time groups of people spent sitting and exercising.

The research found that individuals who sat the most and used the least amount of energy were at the highest risk for type 2 diabetes, breast, colon, ovarian and other cancers, along with cardiovascular disease.

Interestingly the research also revealed that the link between bad health outcomes and the amount of time one stays seated occur regardless of one’s physical activity level; negative outcomes appear to be primarily effected by the amount of time one remains seated and relatively motionless.

However the studies did show that individuals who both do not exercise and spend too much time sitting are at a greater risk for health issues than those who spend a similar amount of time sitting, but engage in daily exercise.

Dr. Alter had a few suggestions of ways individuals can break up sitting time–even if they are in a office or school setting. He suggested that every half an hour one should stand up and walk around for 2 to 3 minutes, or even during commercial breaks when watching television.

Dr. Alter also made note of the fact that small periods of standing, while beneficial, do not replace daily exercise.

Unfortunately at this moment in time there is not a sufficient amount of research available to develop guidelines for sedentary behavior, but is important that we stay as active as possible, explained Neville Owen, program head of Behavioral & Generational Change at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.