Stop Sitting!!
Sitting
The amount of time you spend sitting can significantly affect your
health. A friend recently joked that, “sitting is the new smoking.”
Well, not exactly, but there is a growing body of research that
demonstrates the dangers of sitting too much. A study published
in the Journal of Lifestyle Medicine found that for each daily two-
hour increment of sitting, the risk of diabetes and obesity went up
5 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The same study also revealed
that greater overall sitting time is associated with muscle loss.
Specifically, for each additional hour of sitting over eight hours per
day, there was a 33 percent increase in muscle loss. And in 2013,
the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 3.2 million
people died prematurely from a sedentary lifestyle. According to
Just Stand.org, you are low-risk if you sit for less than four hours
daily, and you are considered sedentary if you sit for six or more
hours per day. More than 60 percent of adults in the U.S. are con-
sidered sedentary, which puts them at a 20–30 percent higher
risk of all-cause mortality.
Things to consider to reduce how much you are sitting:
set up a standing desk at work and try to work standing as much
as possible; instead of sitting while watching TV, use the time for
foam rolling or stretching; if you must sit, try to get up every 30
minutes and walk or stand for five minutes.
It may take some time to make these changes, but you will be surprised out how different you will feel after just a couple of weeks.
Let me know what changes you plan on tacking first.
See you in the gym,
Aaron Leventhal CSCS, PN1, ACSM Cancer Specialist