"There are many important factors we don't understand about sedentary time yet," Young said. She stressed that, "the types of studies available identify trends but don't prove cause and effect."
"We don't have information about how much sedentary behavior is bad for health -- the best advice at this time is to 'sit less and move more,'" she added.
How much more? According to the AHA, people should try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day to reach the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week.
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum is a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She agreed that, based on the evidence, sitting is more than just a "lack of moving."
"The real risk simply comes down to the amount we sit, without there being a true antidote [such as exercise]," Steinbaum said.
Still, society has evolved to encourage sitting, she added.
"Our lives have become focused around activities requiring us to be still -- whether it be commuting or transportation, our computers, or the television or computer in our leisure time," Steinbaum said. "Sociologically, instead of being active to be productive or to have enjoyment, our productivity and fun often requires minimal exertion.'
For her part, George offered up some tips to help minimize sitting and the health dangers it may cause:
Take a one- to three-minute break every half-hour during the day to stand (which burns twice as many calories as sitting) or walk around.The new statement was published Aug. 15 in the AHA journal Circulation.
Stand or exercise while watching TV or working on the computer.
Give up your seat on public transportation and enjoy the people watching from above rather than below.
"Walk and Talk" rather than "Sit and Speak" while talking on cell phones or land lines.
Introduce walking meetings to the work calendar (you're more productive and less distracted).
If you sit at your job all day long, set an alarm on your cell phone (on low) to remind yourself to stand up at least every 2 hours for more than a minute at a time. Stretch, bend or take a short walk.
Gradually reduce daily sitting time by 15 to 20 minutes per day, aiming for two to three fewer sedentary hours over a 12-hour day.
13 comments:
I was a smoker and morbidly obese. I quit smoking and got even fatter. I got Type 2 diabetes. I then got religion. It was gradual. The absolute KEY was starting to walk daily. At first, just a couple blocks. That was over 20 years ago. I walk 10-12 miles a day. My weight is down to my HS football weight. I want to walk. It is NEVER a chore. You will get there if you just start, TODAY. That was my Tony Robbins impression.
I love walking, pedaling my bike and hiking.
it restores the soul.
Endorphin, baby! Since I do not use any mind altering substances anymore, it is my high. We need to pleasure our mind and endorphin's are the most natural way. I can tell people who are not balanced in body, mind, spirit. The ones who lack the body component are easiest to spot.
More science by correlation, which is not science.
I work out with fair regularity, but, when not working out, I prefer to be laying down and, if possible, sleeping. In fact, I work out mostly because it increases my capacity for deep REM sleep.
Exactly Leland. I keep reading how how sitting is bad, but they never say why. How do they even connect sitting with poorer health? It just sounds good. It also sounds like they realized people are sitting in front of computers a lot more and decided that must be unhealthy.
They're anticomputerites, antitelevisionites, antigamerites.
At the Federal Reserve for a lot of workers their jobs require them to sit all day. Come to think of it they're a rather unhealthy lot.
Exactly Leland. I keep reading how how sitting is bad, but they never say why. How do they even connect sitting with poorer health? It just sounds good. It also sounds like they realized people are sitting in front of computers a lot more and decided that must be unhealthy.
They're anticomputerites, antitelevisionites, antigamerites.
At the Federal Reserve for a lot of workers their jobs require them to sit all day. Come to think of it they're a rather unhealthy lot.
Issue is, do we trust anything Black Rock says?
I don't think we need to overthink this. We have become obese because of eating bad food and becoming a sedentary culture. Even kids, who naturally are more active than adults, have become sedentary. I mean WTF? I'm not saying you need to train for a marathon. Just walk around the block. If you get no exercise other than this, you are doing OK. Take a walk after your evening meal. In Italy, you see everyone just strolling after their evening meal. Low obesity and heart disease rate in Italy.
Is sitting all that bad if you get up to do some chores with frequency?
ric, absolutely not. It's just movement that is needed. For people w/ spinal issues, the intermittent activity you describe is best. Fitbits are all the rage because they quantify all those movements.
I go to the gym daily. I do one body part for two hours each day. That equates to about 20-25 different machines/free weights with 4-5 sets of 12-16.
I walk to and from work/gym everyday which = about 8-10 miles.
Saturday and Sunday I also do 1 1/2 hour of Vinyasa Hot Yoga (my downward facing dog is flawless), as well as go to the gym for 2 hours.
I have to have a gym and yoga facility nearby when we go away on our weekends. Both my hubby and I require a decent gym near our B&B.
I have a standing desk at work.
My body is pretty much cut and I love the looksies!
We've become obese because we had a government, fearing starvation of the masses, subsidize robust crops that were easy to grow and could provide sufficient calories to the masses. To sell the crops; they develop a food pyramid, and told everyone they should eat the food shown in the proportions shown. The smallest portion: protein, which is the healthiest of the pyramid. The largest portions were filler that the body had more difficulty breaking down and would store as fat, until breaking it down became essential to life. And the government was successful, and we pretty much ended starvation in our nation. Everyone has all the food they need to eat and more. Literally more, and they eat the more too.
Post a Comment