A new study has confirmed what office workers have long suspected: sitting for more than half an hour at a stretch is bad for you - specifically, it raises the risk of dying from cancer. Researchers tracked over 90,000 people for about 12 years and found that continuous inactivity lasting longer than 30 minutes was linked to higher cancer mortality. Each additional hour of uninterrupted butt-on-chair time increased the risk by 10%. But there's a simple fix: get up and move. Even a short walk around the office every 30 minutes can help. Dr Frederick Ho of the University of Glasgow, lead author, noted that light movement - like slow walking or housework - should not be ignored. Replacing one hour of sedentary behaviour with light physical activity (think ironing) was associated with a 12% lower risk of cancer death. Substitute 30 minutes of sitting with moderate walking for an 8% reduction, or swap five minutes of inactivity for vigorous activity for a 22% lower risk. The study, published in Plos Medicine, used wearable device data from UK Biobank participants. Of course, it's an observational study, so causation isn't proven - but it's probably still worth standing up.