New research suggests swapping your 'Netflix-and-chill' time with a brisk walk or some housework could save you from nine types of cancer.
Charles Mathhews, an epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute, believes that while it is important to be more physically active it is more important to sit less.
The expert who is helping to re-write the exercise guidelines warned that sitting for hours on end is linked to nine more cancers than previously thought.
Previous studies revealed how just one hour of TV daily puts even the most active people at a higher risk of not just breast and colon cancer, but new research states that the risk is high for nine other cancers including lung and head or neck.
Matthews shared the new research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Austin, Texas on Saturday.
According to the Daily Mail, he said, "Watching TV is the major competitor to going out and being more active. Think of light activity and sedentary behavior as flip-flopping each other."
In 2008, the latest physical activity guidelines for Americans recommended avoiding physical 'inactivity', a minimum of five hours of moderate activity and an additional two-and-a-half hours of vigorous activity through the course of the week.
According to the National Institutes of Health, exercise not only keeps your waistline in check but also lowers risk of death from all factors.
Most of us stuck with desk jobs end up leading a sedentary life, which is linked to early death from heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressures, falls, brain diseases, respiratory conditions and cancer.
Just doing a minimum of up to seven-and-a-half hours of physical activity a week can reduce mortality risk by 20 percent.
