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

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