How much more proof do we need that the way we’re living is killing us?

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Researchers from the University of California, San Diego’s School of Medicine recently assessed the health of nearly 1,500 older women. They found that those who sat most of the day and got little exercise had cells that were biologically older by eight years than the women’s actual age.

Even more specifically, women who sat for more than 10 hours a day and got less than 40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily had shorter telomeres. Those are the caps on the end of DNA strands that protect chromosomes from deterioration.

Related: Why Are You Still Sitting There? 

Telomeres typically shorten with age, but health and lifestyle factors can accelerate the process. Shortened telomeres are linked to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

All of this is further proof that a sedentary lifestyle is hurting us badly. Obesity, diabetes, and heart problems have already been linked to sitting for too many hours each day. And we either don’t care about all this — or we aren’t getting the message.

Roughly one in four Americans age 50 and older is not getting any exercise at all — putting themselves at increased risk for heart disease, diabetes and cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.