I’ve got some bad news for you. Right now, while you’re sitting there reading this … you’re killing yourself.
Yep, a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise found that those who sit for most of the day are 54% more likely to die of heart attacks than those who are up on their feet a lot. And that’s true even if you’re a nonsmoker and exercise on a regular basis. In fact, between that study and another report cited in a recent New York Times Magazine story, there are a whole slew of stats you ought to know.
Maybe you’d better, uh, stand up for this.
If you’re sitting:
• …all day at work staring at a computer screen—like me—you have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease as people who mostly stand for their jobs.
• …six or more hours a day, your risk of croaking in the next 15 years increases by 40% over the person who sits less than three hours daily.
• …you might be getting fatter. Between 1980 and 2000, exercise rates stayed the same, but the average Joe’s sitting time increased 8% and obesity rates doubled.
• …electrical activity in your legs shuts off, your calorie consumption drops to 1 per minute, enzymes that help break down fat plummets 90% and your good cholesterol drops by 20%.
And, by the way, the bad news also applies to your TV watching time. And you couch potatoes thought you were free and clear. Ha. Those who sit three hours or more in front of the set are 64% more likely to die of heart disease than those who don’t.
What can we do? Well, get up off our … overtaxed desk chairs, I guess. The study suggests pushing away from the computer and moving around your work area whenever possible—maybe once every 30 minutes or so. (And probably those trips to the snack machine don’t count.) I once read about a combination desk/exercise machine that might be cool. I just need my editor to give the thumbs up to the idea for all of us. Of course, nobody’s seen him move away from his computer in a while.
Keep standing, my friend.
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