Sitting for long periods each day isn’t doing your body any favours. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but here it is again because it’s worth repeating.
The type of foods we eat and the amount we consume make a large impact on our health, and the same can be said for the amount of activity, or in this case, amount of inactivity.
The activity we call ‘exercise’, aka gym classes, boot camps, training sessions etc, does count in the overall amount of activity throughout the day, but when you compare this time with the amount of time we’re sedentary, its easy to see why there’s an issue.
Research indicates that a majority of Australians spend MORE THAN HALF of their day sitting. At work, in transport to/from work, at home, when eating, reading books, catching up with friends…the list goes on.
AusDiab did a recent study on adult activity behaviours and came up with these numbers :
• 57 % of their time engaged in sedentary activities (eg. Sitting, lying)
• 38 % of their time engaged in light intensity activities
• about 5 % of their time doing moderate-to-vigorous activity
The health risks involved with prolonged levels of inactivity and leading a more stationary lifestyle include obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, postural misalignment, inactive regulation of blood fats and sugars due to the lack of muscle use, and to top it off, premature death.
We need to move more often throughout the day.
If your job requires a lot of ‘sit time’, make it a habit to get up and move for at least 5 MINUTES every hour. Tips and ideas include walking to a colleague instead of calling/emailing, grab a drink of water, stand up when you’re on the phone or in meeting, and use the stairs not the lift. If you’ve exhausted pacing the halls, bathroom visits, kitchen chats and photocopier checks, try stretching.
Cheers to your good health!