“Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.”- Dr. James Levine
Many recent studies have revealed that chronic sitting of sitting up to 6-8 hours per day increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, colon cancer in men, breast cancer in women and so much more.
Six to eight hours! I am sure most of us sit much longer than that. Even if you exercise an hour a day, it seems that’s not enough to counteract the negative effects of sitting for so long.
So, What’s the Solution?
The answer is simple enough – you need to be more active throughout the day. Don’t sit for long stretches at a time. Find ways to keep yourself on the move.
“Sedentary is the New Smoking, Not Sitting.”- Dr James Levine
- Set the timer to remind yourself to get up every 20 minutes. Take a small walk around the office. Go get yourself a glass of water to drink. You probably don’t drink enough water – and that’s just one of the 15 common habits that damage your kidneys over time.
- Walk and talk every time you take a call on your mobile phone.
- Skip the elevator and use the stairs whenever possible.
- Stop using the car as much as possible- cycle or walk to nearby destinations.
- Park the car a little away from your office so that you get to walk the remaining distance.
If you can incorporate these kinds of small changes into your life, you’ll find that you have taken thousands of extra steps at the end of a busy working day- with very little extra effort. Use a pedometer to count your steps. You might be surprised at the mileage you are able to clock up with these tiny lifestyle changes.
How Sitting Kills
