Short periods of intense exercise did not seem to reduce the impact of sitting down for long periods of the day, researchers found.
On average people in the UK spend nine waking hours sitting or lying down each day.
The scientists, from Maastricht University, calculated that each extra hour spent sedentary, above the average nine hours, increases the chance of being type two diabetic by 22%.
Julianne van der Berg, of Maastricht University said: "Our findings could have important implications for public health as they suggest sedentary behaviour may play a significant role in the development and prevention of type 2 diabetes."
