Office workers have double risk of DVT

Sitting at a desk all day doubles your risk of experiencing potentially life threatening blood clot

A sedentary lifestyle could be putting the health of many office workers at severe risk, a charity has warned.

The thrombosis charity, Lifeblood say the culmination of sitting for long periods of time, grabbing lunch at your desk and then going home to sit on the sofa could double your risk of developing DVT.

A survey of 1,000 people under the age of 30 found young desk-bound professionals sit for an average of three hours and 75 per cent eat lunch at their desk rather than taking a break and walking around.

And after a long day at their desks, eight out of 10 office workers spend the evening relaxing on the sofa at home meaning the majority of their day is spend sitting down.

With 60,000 potentially fatal blood clots recorded in Britain, Dr Richard Beasley, Director of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand warns that very few people know about the risks.

'People must be educated regarding the risks associated with sitting down for long periods of time and offered strategies to change their work practices,' he says.

For every 90 minutes of sitting, the blood flow to the back of the knee drops by half, doubling the chances of developing a blood clot.

Professor Beverley Hunt, Medical Director of Lifeblood says the research has uncovered a ticking time bomb with nine million office workers putting their health at risk.

'It is imperative that we take heed of these early warning signs and take regular breaks,' he says. 'We have become increasingly sedentary, obstructing the body's ability to function as it should.'

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