Too Much Sitting Can Be Deadly - Even If You Exercise
Dr. Ashraf Girgis published first: 01/26/2015
Most of us like to tell ourselves that if we exercise every day by running or walking, and try to follow a healthy diet, we can expect a healthy, long life. Right? Well, not so fast. A Canadian scientist who did research on over 37 prior studies discovered that even if we exercise for a half an hour or more daily, but have a sedentary life style and sit for long periods of time, we will continue to have a higher risk for heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
"We found the association relatively consistent across all diseases. A pretty strong case can be made that sedentary behavior and sitting is probably linked with these diseases," said study author Aviroop Biswas, a Ph.D. candidate at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network. In another study, those who sat for more than 8 hours a day had a 14% higher chance of being hospitalized for preventable causes. “When we're standing, certain muscles in our body are working very hard to keep us upright," added Biswas, offering one theory about why sitting is detrimental. "Once we sit for a long time . . . our metabolism is not as functional, and the inactivity is associated with a lot of negative effects”.
They found out that prolonged sitting increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by more than 90%. Diseases such as breast, ovarian, and colon cancer are also linked to a sedentary life style.
Also, a study in the October 2012 issue of The American Journal Of Kidney Diseases was first to examine the impact of prolonged sitting and its relation to kidney stones. Marc Hamilton, PhD, of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, had studied this topic for more than a decade. He concluded that, “It is increasingly clear that prolonged sitting is bad for everyone, whether they are fit or fat or active or inactive…The experimental studies conducted by us and others are consistent in finding that sitting too much is unhealthy, even in people who are not overweight and those who exercise regularly”.
According to the World Health Organization, every year 3.2 million people die due to a sedentary lifestyle, making it the fourth most fatal health risk worldwide.
Dr. Biswas and his colleagues suggest:
Taking a one-three minute break every half-hour during the day to stand (which burns twice as many calories as sitting), or walk around.
Standing or exercising while watching TV.
Gradually reducing daily sitting time by 15 to 20 minutes per day, aiming for two to three fewer sedentary hours over a 12-hour day.
I would also like to add few additional suggestions:
Instead of e-mailing your collages at work in different offices or calling them in different department, walk over to deliver the message whenever possible
Take the stairs whenever you can instead of the elevator.
Get a pet that can keep you moving and walking.
Stop using a remote; just get up and turn your TV off manually. As suggested, also make sure to exercise while doing most of your TV-watching.
I used to get upset while staying on the phone for a long time calling companies.
Now I do my deep bre\athing exercises while standing up. If it’s a very long phone call, I do some stretching and simply walk around. You can always have your phone on speaker so you do not have to hold it, or use Bluetooth earphones.
Go for a brisk walk at lunch, by yourself or with a colleague.
Being active is part of the DNA that we inherited from our ancestors. Although our lifestyles are very different, as long as we respect what we are made of (staying active, eating a balanced diet, and being social), we can be expected to live a fairly healthy long life.
Thanks for visiting curenaturally.org. For a consultation to help lead to a healthier lifestyle, contact Dr. Girgis at (616)-777-0608 between 8:30 am to 5:00pm M-F.
