Office workers 'doubling risk of blood clots'

According to Lifeblood, young professionals are doubling their risk of suffering a potentially life threatening blood clot because they sit working for three hours at a time, eat lunch at their desks and then go home and sit on the sofa.

Obesity, diabetes and heart disease are all linked to an unhealthy lifestyle but sitting for long periods can also increase the immediate health risk due to blood clots, the charity, it has warned.

Deep vein thrombosis, dubbed economy class syndrome as it has been linked to cramped long-haul flights, can affect anyone who sits for prolonged periods without getting up to move around, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

The charity's warning came in the wake of its survey of 1,000 people aged under 30. The poll found young desk-bound professionals sat still for an average of three hours and three quarters ate lunch at their desk instead of taking the opportunity to move around which would reduce their clot risk.

Furthermore, eight out of 10 young professionals spent the evening sitting on their sofa at home. After sitting for 90 minutes the blood flow at the back of the knee drops by half and this increases the chances of developing a blood clot two fold, the charity said.

For every hour spent sitting, the risk of a blood clot increases by 10 per cent, it said.

Professor Beverley Hunt, Medical Director of Lifeblood, said: "Our research has uncovered a ticking time-bomb with some nine million office workers and countless young gamers putting themselves at risk of a potentially fatal blood clot."