Apple CEO Tim Cook has made some remarkable claims about the supposed health benefits of the forthcoming Apple Watch, claiming it will help wearers avoid the "new cancer". Cook claims the Apple Watch, which is due to be launched in April, will alert users if they've been inactive for a prolonged period of time.
"If I sit for too long, it will actually tap me on the wrist to remind me to get up and move, because a lot of doctors think sitting is the new cancer," Cook said during an interview at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet conference, according to The Guardian. "Ten minutes before the hour, it will remind you to move. We have a lot of people using the Apple Watch at Apple, and ten minutes before the hour, suddenly they all get up and move. It took a little to get used to, but it’s great."
It's not clear which doctors or research Cook is referring to when he talks of sitting becoming the "new cancer". The American Cancer Society does make a link between inactivity and cancer, claiming that "sitting for six or more hours daily can elevate your chances of dying from cancer and other major diseases", which it claims became apparent from a review of data from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II.
It goes on to state that "women who sat for six or more hours daily faced a 37% greater risk of death as compared to those who sat for three hours or less", while the risk for men was increased by 17% under the same circumstances.
However, it adds that "of course, these deadly patterns reflect health issues beyond cancer – conditions such as heart and respiratory disease and diabetes, to name a few".
"Even so, the link between physical activity and cancer prevention has been confirmed through decades of research," the Society adds.
Whether getting up once an hour at the prompt of your Apple Watch will be enough to ward off cancer is, at best, debatable. Nevertheless, Cook remains adamant the Watch will be a game-changer. "None have changed the way people live their lives," said Cook of other smartwatches. "One of the biggest surprises for Apple Watch will be the breadth of what it can do”.