Warning ? Sitting Can Seriously Damage Your Health | Pittsburgh ...

There?s a growing band of evidence to suggest that if you spend a long time sitting at your desk, or sitting watching TV, or just sitting ? it can actually shorten your life.

Okay, be honest, how many people just stood up, shuffled about or went for a walk? Yes, I thought so. Well, come back and I?ll tell you what you can do about it. Comfortable? Good, then let?s get started.

A study has been published which strongly suggests (and I mean strongly) that sitting down is a real health hazard and can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and premature death, even for those of us who still partake in regular exercise. Scary stuff! Sitting down is what can only be described as a ?low level activity?, so our bodies kind of close down into ?energy storage mode?. This eventually causes an increase in glucose levels, reducing the level of good cholesterol and increasing the level of bad cholesterol, all of which are known to increase the risks of heart disease, diabetes and premature death.

Apparently the average adult spends more than half of their waking hours sitting down ? at work, on the computer, watching the TV, and reading. Depending on the type of work you do and the type of person you are, you could actually spend even more than half of your life sitting down.? It?s long been documented that sitting down for long periods can lead to back ache and obesity, but this takes it to a whole new level, don?t you think?

What You Can Do About It

This kind of depends on where you work, the type of work you do etc. If you spend the majority of the day sitting at a desk then it?s time to make subtle changes if you can. Make sure that you get up and have a brisk walkabout for a few minutes every hour, set an alarm, just make sure that you do it.? Hang on -, I?ll be back in a minute ? right, I?m back now, just went for a little walk. Okay, other simple things you can do is stand up while you?re talking on the phone, physically walk to the dude at the other side of the office to speak to him instead of sending an e-mail and don?t spend the entire evening watching TV. Those little steps really can make a whole heap of difference.

A study in Australia which was documented in The British Journal of Sports Medicine reports that for every hour you spend watching TV over the age of 25 years, you could be cutting your life short by around 21.8 minutes.? You shouldn?t take that sort of information sitting down.

Source: http://if-fit.com/crossfit-blog/warning-sitting-can-seriously-damage-your-health/

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