How many hours a day do you spend sitting? It may be a lot more than you think. All that time you sit at work, in traffic, online or watching TV adds up. And thats adding up to some serious health issues for many of us.
More and more research points to the same conclusion. The more time a person spends sitting every day, the more likely he or she is to have health problems. They include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Even the odds of an early death increase. Whats more, regular exercise cant make up for the harm caused by long periods of sitting.
Findings from an American Cancer Society study of more than 120,000 people are eye-opening:
In October of 2012, Forbes.com reported on the problem. The article looked at 18 studies of about 800,000 people. Heres what researchers found among those who sat the most:
Why are long periods of sitting so bad for you?
Part of the problem is that you dont use as much energy as when youre moving. That makes it easier to gain weight. Being overweight makes you more prone to problems such as diabetes and heart disease.
When you spend long periods sitting, your body starts doing things that are bad for you, according to the New York Times. Your metabolism, the way your body stores fuel and changes it to energy, changes. For example, after just one hour of sitting, the chemical that helps your body burn fat drops by as much as 90 percent. Many medical experts now refer to this change in metabolism as sitting disease.3
Its easier than you think to break the cycle of sitting.
Sitting too much affects your body in a negative way. When muscles are active, they produce substances that are good for you. James A Levine, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor at Mayo Clinic. He addresses the issue on MayoClinic.com. According to Dr. Levine, the solution seems to be less sitting and more moving overall. Even very short periods of activity can be helpful.
One way to start is by simply standing rather than sitting whenever you have the chance. For example:
More good suggestions are offered on NPR.org.5 The site references the book, Instant Recess, by Toni Yancey, M.D., MPH. She offers the following ideas for people who feel chained to their desks:
An Australian study by Genevieve Healy and her colleagues at the University of Queensland6 found that one-minute mini-breaks throughout the day make a real difference, too. You can march in place or take a few steps back and forth. These simple moves can help lower blood sugar, fat, cholesterol, and waist size.
If theres a fountain of youth, Yancey said, its probably physical activity.
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Four Points Family Chiropractic
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