Jun 02, 2015 06:44 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that New York City residents lead sedentary lifestyles which can adversely affect their health.

Researchers at New York University found that despite living in one of the most walkable cities in the nation, New Yorkers are sitting far more than what is considered healthy. The average New York City residents sits more than  seven hours a day -- greatly exceeding the three hours or more per day that is associated with decreased life expectancy, HealthDay reported.

"Although more information is accumulating about the dangerous health effects of sitting -- even if you exercise regularly -- few studies have actually quantified how much time people spend in this position," Stella S. Yi, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of population health at NYU Langone, said in a statement.

For the study, Yi and her colleagues analyzed data collected as a part of the City DOH's Physical Activity and Transit Survey, which surveyed nearly 4,000 adults across all five boroughs by telephone in 2010 and 2011.

They found that at the lower economic end, individuals spent 6.3 hours per day sitting, while those with higher incomes spent 8.2 hours per day sitting. They also found that college graduates spent 8.2 hours per day sitting, compared with 5.5 hours per day for those with less than a high school education. Sitting time was highest in Manhattan compared to other boroughs.

Previous studies have linked sedentary behavior to death from heart disease and other causes, with life expectancy increasing by two years if adults reduced their sitting time to three hours per day. Individuals who exercise regularly but are still sedentary for several hours a day may be at greater risk for adverse health outcomes than their physical activity levels might suggest.

"Interventions for decreasing sitting time in the worksite and home are needed to improve health outcomes across all groups -- not just those identified as having the longest sitting times," Yi said.

The findings are detailed in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

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