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Every hour spent sitting watching television increases the risk of getting diabetes, researchers have warned.

A study revealed that every hour that people regularly spend slumped in front of the TV can raise the risk of developing the condition by 3.4 per cent, the Daily Mail reports.

Researchers believe that too much sitting can increase people’s weight – a risk factor for the condition.

The study saw scientists enroll 3,234 overweight men and women over the age of 25 to try and determine how to prevent high-risk adults developing type 2 diabetes.

They were split into three groups, with one given the drug metformin, one increasing their activity levels and the other given a placebo pill.

At the start of the study, the total time spent watching TV was around 140 minutes per day in all three groups – with another 400 minutes spent sitting at work.

At the end, those in the activity group spent less time watching TV, and less time sitting at work – cutting the time they were sedentary by around 37 fewer minutes on average.

Those in the placebo and the drug groups, however, only reduced the amount of time they spent sitting by nine minutes or less.
Researchers claim that the risk of diabetes increased by 3.4 per cent for each hour spent watching TV after adjustment for age, sex and other factors.

The results of the study were published in Diabetologia, The Journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.