The list of all the things which are bad for you has just got longer ? and this time the culprit is? sitting. Yup - spending too much sitting at your desk, already thought to be bad for your well-being, is now thought to affect your lifespan according to a study conducted by the American Cancer Society.

In the study, people were more likely to die of heart disease than cancer, but after adjusting for a number of risk factors, including body mass index (BMI) and smoking, women who spent six hours a day sitting had a 37 percent increased risk of dying versus those who spent less than three hours a day on their bottoms. For men the increased risk was 17 percent.

Exercise, even a little per day, did tend to lower the mortality risk tied to sitting, the team noted. However, sitting's influence on death risk remained significant even when activity was factored in.

On the other hand, people who sat a lot and did not exercise or stay active had an even higher mortality risk: 94 percent for women and 48 percent for men.