Unlike our ancestors who spent their days hunting, building, farming, we have found ways and developed technologies to make daily life easier.
We live in a world that is constructed to keep us sitting. But the bad news is that sitting down can shave years off our lives. The worse news is that the damage done to our health by sitting can never be undone by exercising.
A 2011 study from the American Cancer Society, that included more than 120,000 people during a 14-year period, found that men and women who sit for more than six hours a day were, respectively, 20% and 40% more likely to die during the course of the study than those who sat less than three hours a day.
This was supported by a study running in the Anals of Internal Medicine. It examined 47 studies that analyze the connection between physical inactivity and mortality. The researchers found that sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of diseases or health conditions that can result to premature death, even exercise. The study found that people who sit all day to be 24% more at risk to early death than those who sat less. These people were more at risk to develop type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other illnesses related to sedentary lifestyle).
How does sitting ruin the body?
When you sit, your leg muscles become idle and all of its electrical activity shuts off. Furthermore, the calorie burning process decreases to 1 every minute, and the enzymes that help the body break down fat decline at a rate of 90%.
After two hours
The good cholesterol that helps remove the bad cholesterol or low density lipoproteins (LDL), which block and cause plaque build-up in your arteries, drops to 20%.
After 24 hours of sitting…
The insulin in your blood drops its effectiveness to 24%, which puts you at high risk to diabetes.
As we mentioned before, no amount of exercise can undone the bad effects done to your body by prolonged sittings. Is there a solution?
Start taking notes of how much time you sit every day, and start reducing that number day by day.
If you must sit at work, make sure to stand and walk around for a minute every half an hour, this way you will give your legs and butt a break.
Sourced: stethnews.com
