Being desk-bound for long hours daily is not only bad for your physical health but can affect your mental well-being as well.

The findings by Myanna Duncan, Aadil Kazi and Cheryl Haslam, professor at Work Health Research Centre, Loughborough University, also showed that more time spent sitting at work was tied with decrease in mental well-being.

Researchers surveyed over 1,000 employees measuring employees' use and experiences of occupational health services and their physical activity levels.

In the UK, as elsewhere in Europe, there are now twice as many workers aged 50 and over as there are aged 25 or younger.

Duncan says: "People don't need a psychologist to tell them to get up and walk around. But if it helps, I'd tell them to put a post-it note on their computer to remind them. Anyway go and talk to your colleagues face to face, it's a lot more sociable and better for you than emailing them."

These findings were presented at the British Psychological Society's Annual Occupational Psychology Conference, in Chester.