Scientists are now saying that just standing up may be as important as exercise in the battle to lose weight. According to ABC News, researchers have found intriguing evidence that one major reason so many people are overweight is because most of us sit too much.

A team of scientists at the University of Missouri say in most cases, exercise alone isn’t enough to lose weight, ABC says. The researchers have found that sitting down causes the enzymes that are responsible for burning fat just shut down.

ABC reports that the research goes beyond the common sense assumption that people who sit too much are less active and thus less able to keep their weight under control. According to the research, ABC says, is that sitting for hours at a time attacks the body in ways that have not been well understood.

Researchers said they didn’t expect to find a strong signal when they began looking into what happens to fat when people remain seated, ABC says. In fact, the effect turned out to be huge, in studies dealing with both laboratory animals and humans.

The solution? Stand up and putter. According to ABC, the researchers aren’t saying to quit exercising, just that exercise alone won’t get the job done, and to pay more attention to what’s happening when we aren’t at the gym.

The study brings to light what happens during the times in our lives when we sit too much. ABC News says this could help explain the rising tide of obesity, because people tend to sit more these days than they did a half century ago, spending more time on the computer, playing video games or watching TV more than a half century ago.

ABC News reports researchers expect a flood of studies in the next couple of years, since much is still not known about this issue, including how long effects last from simply getting up and puttering around for awhile.

In the meantime, researchers say to do the obvious: get up and putter around instead of staying sedentary.