Actually, make that stand.
Researchers have found that sitting for long periods of time is bad for your health. One study in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise found that as the amount of time a person sat was positively correlated with mortality. This relationship was independent of whether or not a person was overweight.
A second study in the journal Circulation found that the number of hours sitting in front of the television was also linked with higher mortality.
Given that the typical adult American spends around 4.5 hours each day watching television, 2.5 hours each day sitting in front of the computer (more for office workers), and another 2.5 hours sitting in the car, what does this mean for our health?
Several years ago scientists reported that sitting for more than about 3 to 4 hours turned off the fat-burning enzyme called lipase. So by sitting for hours on end, not only are you NOT getting the benefits of exercise, but you are TURNING OFF YOUR BODY'S ABILITY TO BURN FAT.
So what's a commuting, office-working, computer-using person to do?
Exercise in a pill can't help with this one. Get up and walk around more, if that's possible. Try this desk workout, if you dare. And there's always the desk treadmill.
However you manage to do it, the message seems to be move more, and more often, to keep muscles and metabolism happy and healthy.
