A new research conducted by American Cancer Society discovered that it's not just how much physical activity you get, but how much time you spend sitting down, which can have an effect on your death risk.

The research discovered that more free time spent sitting was directly linked with higher risk of death, particularly in females.

Females who reported over six hours per day of sitting were 37% more prone to die during the time period studied as compared to those who sat fewer than 3 hours daily.

Males who sat more than 6 hours daily were 18% more likely to pass away as compared to those who sat fewer than 3 hours daily.

Associations were stronger for cardiovascular disease mortality than for cancer mortality.

Patel said, "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."

The authors reason out that "public health messages and guidelines should be refined to include reducing time spent sitting in addition to promoting physical activity.

The results of the study appeared early online in the American Journal of Epidemiology. (With Inputs from Agencies)