The Dutch spend more than twice the amount of time sitting down than other Europeans, putting them at risk of disease or even premature death, research institute TNO said in a report out on Tuesday.

Some 26% of the Dutch spend over 8.5 hours a day sitting down, making them the “champions of Europe” in the “most sedentary” category, and increasing their chances of early death by 27%, TNO said. In the rest of Europe, an average of 11% of the population sit for more than 8.5 hours a day.

Some 3.7 million people, or half of the working population, sit down for over six hours or more at work. Lawyers, economists and software developers top the list with an average of 7.3 hours.

In 2018, when the Dutch were also found to be off their feet the most, some 32% sat down for over 8 hours in 24.

Research has shown that sitting for too long is associated with an increased risk of obesity and heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer and early death, even among people who exercise regularly, public health institute RIVM said as early as 2016.

TNO researcher Lidewij Renaud said the reason many Dutch remain glued to their seats is related to the Covid pandemic. “Many people have continued to work from home since then. Not everyone is the same, of course, but people do tend to move less at home, and they are moving even less because there is no need to travel to and from work,” she told the AD.

Renaud said working from home is here to stay and employers will have to support workers in their efforts to move more and stay healthy. “Sitting down is bad for you and this will always be a relevant issue,” she said.

According to Jan Willem Landré, of Vitaal Bedrijf, a health initiative started in 2020 by employers’ organisation s VNO-NCW and small business lobby group MKB-Nederland, businesses have been showing an interest in promoting workers’ health for several years. “We also did a scan among workers and 98% said they want to move more at work,” he said.

Solutions don’t have to be complicated, Landré said. “It could be as simple as putting the photocopier on a designated floor instead of having one on every floor so people have to take the stairs to get to it. And meetings can be done standing up or while walking.”

According to Landré, simple changes will motivate people more than sports programmes, which, he said, only appeal to people who are fit already. “We also know that getting up every five minutes is more beneficial than sitting down for eight hours and do an hour’s intensive training every couple of days,” he said.