Sitting Down Makes Your Bum Bigger, Study Shows

Sitting around really does give you a big backside, scientists have revealed. Researchers found that the pressure put on areas of the body used for sitting or lying down produces up to 50 per cent more fat in those parts. This can explain why couch potatoes and other sedentary behavior makes you fat when combined with a lack of exercise. But even those with healthy diet and exercise habits will be affected if they spend long periods sat behind a desk. Researchers found that preadipocyte cells – the precursors to fat cells – turn into fat cells and produce even more fat when subject to prolonged periods of ‘mechanical stretching loads’ – the kind of weight we put on our body tissues when we sit or lie down.