Eating lunch at your desk could twice the odds of developing deadly blood clots, warn experts in a novel study. The study revealed that a continuous immobility for ninety minutes causes the flow of blood to the vein behind the knee to drop by fifty percent.
To examine the effects of continuous immobility on health, health experts carried out a survey involving more than one thousand young professionals ages twenty to thirty and video games aged sixteen to twenty. In survey about three quarters of the office workers say at least seventy-three per cent admitted to take their lunch at their desk.
About nine out of ten of the video gamers played for longer than ninety minutes without a break. The study revealed a more than two fold increased risk of blood clots among those who usually ate lunch seated at their desk or who remain immobile for longer than ninety minutes without any break.
According to an estimate there are more than sixty thousand cases of potentially lethal blood clots in the UK each year caused by DVT (deep vein thrombosis). A team led by Dr Richard Beasley from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, conducted a separate study involving more than four hundred sedentary workers.
The study also found an increased risk of blood clots among people who often ate their lunch seated at their desk. Lead author Dr Beasley, stated people know that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in later life.
However, very few people are aware of the fact prolonged immobility in the workplace also poses an immediate threat. They must be educated regarding the risks associated with sitting down for long periods.