(PCM) It seems like every other day a new list of once accepted practices and products are now found to be detrimental to our health. Things we once thought were healthy, like artificial sweeteners due to their low calorie content, are now in the middle of nutrition and health debates due to possible links to cancer, weight gain, and other negative side effects.
Everyday we have to be on the lookout for our health, making sure to avoid empty calorie foods and foods high in fat, sugar, and sodium. We have to make sure that we’re getting enough sleep at night and that we exercise for at least 30 minutes everyday. Brush and floss your teeth for healthy gums and a healthy heart. The list of how to stay healthy and prolong life steadily grows with every new health report or discovery.
One discovery of a source of our nation’s unhealthy status has been raising alarm recently in the professional and educational world; sitting. “Sitting is the New Smoking” has already graced the headlines of several health blogs, publications, and newspapers, claiming that a sedentary lifestyle is just as damaging to our health as smoking cigarettes.
This seems like a bold claim; how could simply sitting be as hazardous as smoking something commonly referred to as a “cancer stick”?
As it turns out, sitting for an extended amount of time everyday, like sitting at your desk at work for several hours or watching TV for example, can lead to obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, and cardiovascular disease. Sitting for hours can also to lead to weakened muscles and poor fat burning.
That’s a rather upsetting discovery if you are one of the 81% of Americans with a full time job and spend the majority of your day sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen.
Dr. James A. Levine, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has spent much of his medical career studying the effects of sitting on our health and has made some shocking discoveries.
People who spend 4 hours sitting in front of TV a day as compared to people who only spend 2 hours sitting have a 50% higher chance of death from any cause and a 125% higher risk of symptoms associated with cardiovascular disease, like chest pain or heart attacks. Other studies have linked sitting to a shorter life span.
When we sit, out calorie-burning rate drops down to about 1 calorie per minute; that’s one third the calorie-burning rate of when we’re walking. This is caused by inactivity in your muscles, which more or less shut down when you sit for a prolonged period. The drastic effects that sitting has on our metabolism and fat burning rates are what lead to the increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
You’re not safe if you sit all day at work and still make it to the gym either. Exercise doesn’t offset these risks by a significant amount if you still spend a decent amount of time sitting.
What can you do to combat a sedentary lifestyle? Dr. Levine came up with NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. NEAT consists of seemingly small non-exercise activities, like bending over and picking something up off the ground or tying your shoes.
The more movement you have, the better. When you’re moving around or even just standing, you’re using more muscles and energy than when you’re sitting. Your body’s processes of burning calories and fat and breaking down sugars functions properly as opposed to being stalled, like when you’re sitting.
If you’re at your desk all day, take a 10 minute break every hour and do some stretches. Try sitting on a yoga ball which is better for your posture and promotes more movement by engaging your abdomen and back muscles than a regular office chair. Or you can ditch the chair all together and get a standing desk. If you really want to take it to the next level, you can even purchase a treadmill desk, originally created by Dr. Levine and now sold by Steelcase.
The post Is Sitting Around Killing Us? also appeared on PCM Lifestyle.