We sit at work. We sit at home. We sit in the car. We sit down to eat. We sit at in front of the tv. We sit at the movies. It is clear we spend a lot of our lives sitting. But, as plenty of new research seems to confirm, all this sitting is not be good for us.

One thing researchers have learnt is that prolonged sitting is associated with sustained higher blood glucose levels which, over time, can contribute to the development of a range of diabetes-related complications.

To date most of the research into sitting and diabetes has focused on type 2 diabetes, but a new study from Professor David Dunstan, Head of the Physical Activity Laboratory at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, is looking into whether frequent breaks from sitting can help improve diabetes management in people with type 1 diabetes.

“A lot of the research into how prolonged sitting affects people with diabetes has focused on type 2 diabetes, but we want to see how it impacts people with type 1 diabetes,” Professor Dunstan said.

“One thing we know is that in people with type 2 diabetes prolonged sitting can exaggerate hyperglycaemia after meals.

“This could be the same for people with type 1 diabetes but nobody has done the research.

“We want see if people can improve their blood glucose management by breaking up periods of sitting.

“We are trying to build the evidence-base relating to workplace interventions that support people with type 1 diabetes.

“This could be a series of light exercises that can be performed in the workplace like an office walk at a light pace or simple resistance activities such as squatting and calf raises at your desk.”

“I’d like to thank Diabetes Australia for their valuable support.”

You can find out more information about the study, including how to volunteer, here.

Find out how you can support research like Professor Dunstan’s here.