ASK THE EXPERT – As seen in the Surprise Independent, May 20, 2015
By design, humans are not sedentary creatures but technology, despite its countless positives, has turned many of us into sitting ducks. Recent research has shown that prolonged sitting increases one’s risk of death by up to 40 percent.
It almost sounds like the plot for a low-budget horror film, “The Attack of the Killer Chairs! Chairs have provided us with a comfortable place to sit for thousands of years. They are our friends…or are they? World leaders are baffled by a wave of deaths caused by the normally docile act of sitting. A crack team of health experts take a stand and investigate the dastardly chairs, stopping their senseless killing spree… This is one movie you won’t be able to take sitting down.”
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Kidding aside, the health problems associated with prolonged sitting are well documented. In our “deep-seated” world, people sit an average of 5 hours and 41 minutes per day at work, and even more time at home or in public. Researchers suggest that inactivity, sitting included, now kills more people than smoking.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recently sponsored its fi rst ever “National Get Fit Don’t Sit Day,” a day devoted to getting people up and moving more. They recommend that everyone, not just persons with diabetes, limit their “sit time” to no more than 90 minutes at a stretch. Break up the sitting, by standing, stretching, walking in place or around the block. Any activity that gets you up and moving is beneficial.
For more exercises, go to www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/exercise-at-your-desk.
So don’t just sit there, get up and move, especially away from those “killer chairs.”
Rhonda Zonoozi is an exercise physiologist and certified health & wellness coach at the Sun Health Center for Health & Wellbeing in Surprise.
Information provided in the section is from a multidisciplinary team of Sun Health professionals at the Center for Health and Wellbeing, based in Surprise, Arizona. However, it should not be a substitute for medical advice from your physician. To submit a question for consideration, email [email protected].
