Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Get Up



According to Australian researchers, people sitting in front of the tube for four hours a day are 46 percent more likely to die of any disease, and 80 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular issues. Not surprising, right?

But listen to this: The researchers also found that "it isn't just couch potatoes who were affected -- even for people who exercised regularly, the risk of death went up the longer they were in front of the TV. The problem was the prolonged periods of time spent sitting still."

In other words, the benefits of regular exercise can be negated by hours of sitting -- regardless of whether you're planted in front of a TV at home or computer at work:
[E]ven if you get eight hours of sleep and spend 30 to 60 minutes a day working out, that leaves at least 15 hours for other activities. "The implication of these findings is that the extraordinary amount of sitting can undo the good effects that we know are a benefit when we get regular exercise," Dr. Dunstan says.
So get up off your ass.