A new study from American Cancer Society researchers has found that individuals who spend more time sitting have a higher risk of death, despite their overall physical activity level.

Researchers analyzed survey responses from more than 123,000 individuals who had no history of cancer, heart attack, stroke, emphysema or other lung disease enrolled in a cancer prevention study. They examined the amount of time participants spent sitting and their physical activity in relation to mortality over a three-year period.

They found that more leisure time spent sitting was associated with a higher risk of mortality, particularly in women.

Among individuals who sat for more than six hours each day, women were 37 percent more likely to die and men were 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than 3 hours a day, regardless of their physical activity level.

When combined with a lack of physical activity, the association was even stronger.

"Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases," said the study’s lead author, Alpa Patel, Ph.D.