Spending ten years or more in a sedentary job almost doubles the risk of some types of bowel cancer, a study shows.
Worse still, researchers found even workers who regularly keep fit or go to the gym are still twice as likely to get a tumour.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, highlight the dangers of modern working patterns, where large numbers of employees are desk bound for hours at a time.
The research also backs up earlier studies which showed men who sit down most of the day at their jobs are 30 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than those with very active occupations.
More than 37,500 people a year in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer. The disease has a high mortality rate - around 16,000 a year - because many victims ignore early warning signs and only seek medical help once the cancer has advanced.
Diets high in fat and red meat, as well as lack of exercise, are thought to be among the main risk factors.
But the latest study, by a team of experts at the University of Western Australia, show long periods of physical inactivity during the day could also be a major risk - even among those who do a lot of exercise in their free time.
Recent studies from the US suggest adults now spend around 55 per of their time at work sitting down.
The Australian researchers spoke to 918 bowel cancer victims and compared their working patterns with 1,021 cancer-free volunteers.
They were quizzed on their job history, lifestyles and levels of physical activity.
The results showed employees who spent more than a decade in sedentary jobs were 94 per cent more likely to suffer a tumour in an area of the bowel known as the distal colon.This is a large part of the bowel which connects up with the rectum.
Researchers also found sedentary working patterns increased the chances of cancer of the rectum by 44 per cent over a ten-year period.
The researchers said their findings suggest no amount of leisure time activity can offset the harm done from long periods of sitting down on the job.
In a report on their findings they said: 'We found those who spent the most time in sedentary work had a risk of distal colon cancer that was twice that of those who spent the most time in a job requiring light activity.
'Even a high level of vigorous recreational physical activity did not modify the effect of sedentary work.'
And they warned: 'The findings have occupational health implications, given that advances in technology have led to increasing amounts of sedentary behaviour at work.'
Sitting down on the job is thought to lead to increased blood sugar levels and damage insulin production, both of which have been linked with the development of bowel cancer.
It could also be that it leads to inflammation deep inside the body, another known risk factor for tumours, researchers said.
Dr Claire Knight, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the findings back up other studies on physical inactivity and cancer.
But she warned the findings need to be replicated in larger studies.
'This is a fairly small study which relied on asking people about their behaviour years ago, which can make it less reliable.
'But it does reflect other larger studies which show that being physically inactive can mean a greater cancer risk.
'Een small amounts of physical activity can be good for your health and add up over the course of the day and the more active we are the more we can help reduce our cancer risk.
'Being physically active also helps with keeping a healthy body weight, which we know can reduce the risk of many types of cancer.
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