For the new study, published in The Lancet Public Health in April, researchers from the Norwegian School of Sports Science in Oslo and other institutions decided to dig as deep as possible into lifestyle, work in the workplace, and lifespan.
They started with data already collected by Norwegian health authorities, which have been conducting studies to measure the health of hundreds of thousands of Norwegians for decades. These data included detailed information about their work and movement history, education, income, and other aspects of their life.
The researchers now compiled data sets for 437,378 of the participants in these studies and categorized them by occupation type. Some, like clerks or inspectors, would walk and lift at work; others did heavy manual labor; and the others sat more or less at their desks all day. The researchers then compared people’s records to decades-long databases tracking diseases and deaths in Norway.
On an initial run, their results reinforced the idea that active jobs shorten life. Over the course of approximately 30 years, sedentary men outlived those who frequently walked or otherwise exerted themselves at work. (There was still no significant correlation between women’s occupations and their longevity.)
But when scientists scrupulously checked everyone’s education, income, smoking, exercise habits, and weight, the associations turned around. In this more in-depth analysis, men who were professionally active were less likely to develop heart disease and cancer than men who were confined to desks. Regardless of whether they walked a fair bit to get to work or did other, more strenuous work, active men lived on average about a year longer.
In essence, the study shows that “every movement counts, regardless of whether you are active at work or in your free time,” says Ulf Ekelund, professor at the Norwegian School of Sports Science, who oversaw the new study. Conversely, the results also remind us that sitting, even at comfortable desks or on comfortable sofas, is unhealthy.
What this study does not tell us is what aspects of our lives apart from work could most affect our health and longevity, or why women’s lifespans in general seem unaffected by the exertion of work hours. Dr. Ekelund and colleagues hope to examine some of these questions in future research. But for the time being, he says, assume “that any physical activity is beneficial, whether it’s in your free time, at work, at home or during transport.”
