Work: Don't take it sitting down

Smoking. Sugar. Transfats. Sedentary lifestyle. Sitting at a desk.

Yes, they're all bad for you, even the last one.

According guidelines published Monday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, people who sit the most have more than twice the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a 13 percent increased risk of cancer and a 17 percent increased risk of premature death, compared to those who sit the least.

The British experts recommend that people start with two hours of standing or light activity, adding they should eventually double that to four hours.

And exercising when you're not at work doesn't seem to help, said one of the authors.

"Even if you're meeting your physical activity guidelines, you cannot undo the risks of prolonged sitting," said Gavin Bradley, director of the "Get Britain Standing" advocacy group.

Besides the health risks listed above, the risk sitting for long hours has been compared to the risks associated with smoking.

We don't know that proponents of standing at work have a vested interest, such as investment in a company that builds standing work stations, but there would seem to be a market for that.

And, we know there are plenty of workers who have to stand all day would be happy to be able to sit down more often.

But all of us who work at desks should take the new guidelines as an incentive to get up and walk around more often, take telephone calls and meetings standing up and even looking into ways we could do our work somewhere other than sitting in office chairs.