it could be lethal! Health risks are boosted significantly in those who sit too much, even if they exercise. We were apparently not meant to sit all day…
yet he average American spends almost 8 hours sitting each day, over 50 hours per week actually!
All this being sedentary is NOT good for us- as you can well imagine- in this immobile state our metabolism is ticking along like a slug, few calories get burned and certain enzymes like lipoprotein lipase, that moves fat out of the bloodstream SLOW DOWN.
If you sit a lot here’s the picture that can result:
a large waist, a higher body mass index, higher blood sugars and higher levels of fats in the blood too than someone who sits less, even if you get out for daily exercise!
Seems like it’s an overall movement quotient for the day- 8 hours of sitting can’t be immediately counteracted with an hour of exercise.
Instead, here are some suggestions:
- after a long (seated) workday do you sit on the couch for down time ad watch a few shows? Make this “exercise time” instead- put your bike on a trainer and pedal while watching, put your treadmill in front of the TV, roll around on your physio ball and do a few core exercises instead
- most phones now a days allow us to roam while chatting- take advantage of this
- get up OFTEN during your day, do a task on your feet every hour or so
- use an alternative to driving to get to work- bike, walk, bus (you might have to stand and probably have to walk to/from your office)
- get a dog 😉
- make one day a week “car-free”
Got other suggestions to minimize sitting? Submit them in the comments section below.
think NEAT: non exercise activity thermogenesis is a fancy term for generally moving more doing things that may not constitute a formal exercise session, wash dishes by hand instead of using a machine, wash your car by hand, walk briskly where ever you go
Don’t let the sitting epidemic affect your health!
Visit CTV’s website here to read more on the studies supporting this.
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