(CNN) - You may not want to sit down for this one.
In a new study, researchers found that sitting for long periods of time can lead to an earlier death, regardless of how much a person exercises.
They followed a national representative population of 8,000 individuals older than 45 for an average of four years.
The results account for multiple variables, such as age, race and sex.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Keith Diaz, said the most surprising finding was that sitting for more than 60 to 90 consecutive minutes increased the risk of death.
Diaz said to reduce the harmful consequences of sitting, one needs to decrease the overall time spent sitting and take frequent movement breaks.
The study was published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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