Dangers of Sitting Too Much
If you make an effort to get in 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise a day, but you spend much of the rest of the day sitting, you may be at increased risk of metabolic syndrome and death, according to an editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
“Recent, observational studies have suggested that prolonged bouts of sitting time and lack of whole-body muscular movement are strongly associated with obesity, abnormal glucose metabolism, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and cancer, as well as total mortality independent of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity,” say the authors, Elin Ekblom-Bak, Mai-Lis Hellénius and Björn Ekblom.
Source: Are we facing a new paradigm of inactivity physiology? .pdf
For those of us who spend long hours working at a desk or computer, and lolling in front of a TV, that is a wake-up call. Evidence is pointing towards activity breaks as necessary for health. I have 10 tips to stop sitting still, which I wrote after earlier research was published in 2007. Some folks have switched to a treadmill desk. But I think the best solution is still to wear a pedometer that nags you to get in more steps.
Do you have a computer program or iPhone app that you like to remind you to get up, stretch, move around or take a break?
Dangers of Sitting Too Much originally appeared on About.com Walking on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 09:24:44.
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