How to combat sitting all day

Sitting all day is a current health concern.   While I know that sitting all day has been described as “the new smoking” until now this made me uncomfortable – as its not the same.  You can get help to quit smoking.  If you work in an office you are expected to sit and standing desks are rare, so you have no choice but to sit down.  While I am aware that smoking is an addiction, I think it is still more within the individual’s control than sitting if you work in an office.

I am an optimistic person by nature, so I don’t want to be the voice of doom for my readers about sitting.  So I was very interested in some recent research which demonstrates how to limit the impact of sitting.

Spending much of the day sitting around increases the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and ultimately, death – with 50,000 people anually in the UK dying as a result, say researches from Queen’s University in Belfast.    Around 30% of adults spend at least six hours a day during the week sitting and this rises to 37% at weekends.  Roughly one-thrid of people who are sedentary will have at least two major health conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.  Researchers from the American Cancer Society estimate that just 30 minutes of some physical activity would halve the death rates from chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

So 30 minutes of physical activity per day (like walking) is what researchers currently think is required to combat sitting all day.

References

Journal Epidemiol Community Health. 2019 Jul;73(7):625-629. doi:10.1136/jech-2018-211758

Americal Journal of Preventive Medicine, Mortality Risk Reductions for Replacing Sedentary Time with Physical Activities, Rees-Punia, Erika et al.  Volume 56, Issue 5, 736-741

 

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