Spending all day sitting down may not just be bad for your backside: it could also do serious damage to your kidneys, according to new research.

The findings, due to be presented at next month’s ASN Kidney Week 2015 in San Diego, US, suggest that kidney disease may be the latest reason not to stay seated for long periods of time.

The team behind the research have called for more public health interventions to counter sedentary behaviour. They point out that sedentary behaviour (engaging in activities in the seated or lying position that barely raise the energy expenditure above resting level) is commonly confused with physical inactivity (lack of moderate/vigorous physical activity) and stress that there is a clear distinction.

Dominique Ferranti, Srini Beddhu, MD (University of Utah School of Medicine), and their colleagues analysed the intensity and duration of physical activities carried out by 5.873 adults.

The researchers found that each 80 minutes/day (assuming 16 awake hours/day) increase in sedentary duration was associated with a 20 per cent increased likelihood of chronic kidney disease. This association was independent of moderate/vigorous physical activity duration, demographics, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, lung disease and mobility limitations. Moreover, this association persisted even after adjusting for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

“Sedentary behaviour, which is not mere lack of moderate/vigorous physical activity, is likely an independent risk factor for chronic kidney disease,” said Dr Beddhu.

“It needs to be tested whether sedentary behaviour affects the progression of chronic kidney disease, and thereby, increases the risk of end stage renal disease. Hence, interventions targeting sedentary behaviour to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease need to be conducted.”

Sedentary behaviour has frequently been described as “the new smoking,” based on findings from several past studies. Researchers have previously concluded that every hour spent sitting cancels out 30 minutes of exercise, while a five-minute walk every hour has been found to prevent arterial damage in the legs caused by prolonged periods of sitting.

The general scientific consensus has been that sedentary behaviour is bad for your health, however the waters were muddied recently by a paper which claimed that extended periods of sitting are not actually bad for you, so long as you meet physical activity guidelines.