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We are all aware that sitting at the work place for hours together, glued to our computer screens is doing more harm to us than any good. Apart from causing problems like back ache and obesity, sitting down for long hours during the day can also cause problems to our internal organs.

A new study suggests that people who spend a lot of time sitting are at increased risk for kidney disease.

For the study, researchers divided more than 5,600 people, aged between 40 and 75, into groups, with respect to the amount of time they spent sitting each day and also in accordance to the exercise (moderate to vigorous) they did.

The study findings revealed that women who sat for less than three hours every day were more than 30 percent less likely to develop chronic kidney disease when compared to those who sat for more than eight hours a day.

In case of men, those who sat for less than three hours a day were about 15 percent less likely to develop chronic kidney disease than those who sat more than eight hours a day, Health Day reported.

Other revelations of the findings were that men who sat for long hours, but got regular physical activity like 30 minutes of walking every day were 30 percent less likely to develop chronic kidney disease than those who sat for long hours and were also physically in active.

However, it was found that physical activity did not make any difference in the risk factor in women who sat for long hours.

"It is currently not known how sedentary time or physical activity directly impact kidney health, but less sitting and more physical activity is associated with increased cardiovascular health through improvements to blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose metabolism and arterial health," lead researcher Dr. Thomas Yates, of the University of Leicester, in England, said in a journal news release.

"While this study confirms the growing body of literature that supports a link between lifestyle factors and the development of chronic kidney disease, it also adds to the evidence that simply sitting less may have important health benefits," he added.

According to Yates, the findings further suggest that "in terms of kidney function, traditional moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, jogging or running on the treadmill, may be more important for men, whereas reducing prolonged periods of sitting time may be more important for women."

Though the study links sitting for long hours and kidney disease, it does not establish a cause and effect relationship, the report said.

The study was published in the October issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.