Choosing to spend many hours a day sitting down has been recently related to a higher rate of depression, according to a UK study. A team of researchers from the University College London discovered something quite peculiar. They found how teenagers who choose to spend a considerable part of the day sitting have a higher risk of getting more depressed.
And until they reached adulthood, the rate of depression could be too much. Researchers performed some tests on 4,257 adolescents who were part of the University of Bristol’s Children of the 90s research. So, the tests involved some movement tracking of participants for almost ten hours over approximately three days. The teenagers between 12 and 16 years old were asked to wear an accelerometer and do a questionnaire about their symptoms of depression levels. They had to reply with a “low mode” or “poor concentration” rate.
Sitting Down More Than You Should Have Many Disadvantages, Including Depression
The team of researchers discovered that between the ages of 12 and 16, physical movement decreased. The time spent sedentarily, on the other hand, raised significantly, from an average of seven hours to eight hours and 45 minutes. So, for every extra hour spent sitting down/day, the teenagers’ depression rate increased by almost up to 11,1 % by age 18. Also, for those who chose to spend large amounts of time sedentary at all three ages showed some alarming results of 28,2 % higher depression rates by age 18.
As for those who had permanently elevated levels of light activity, the depression scores were 19,6 %. Every extra hour of light activity/day at ages between 12 and 16 was related to some better depression scores of 9,6 % to 11,1 % lower by the age of 18. Of course, it should be explained that the research displays a connection between depressive symptoms and sedentary behavior, not an effect and cause relationship.
