Sitting All Day Is Bad For Your Health. Here’s How to Counteract It.

We’ve all heard that sitting for too long is bad for your health. Because we haven’t evolved to do so, we become less active, which can lead to dead butt syndrome. Sitting may not be completely “right”. new smoking” However, too much can shorten the lifespan.

“Sitting actually ages you faster,” says Katie Bowman, biomechanist and author of My Perfect Movement Plan. Many of the things we perceive as aging, such as bone and joint health, muscle mass and energy levels, will become more severe, she added. affected by sitting time”

And we spend a lot of time sitting. The numbers vary depending on how much time the average American sits in a day, but it’s probably 9 and a half hours. Studies show that most people agree that women sit less than men, but we all sit more than previous generations.

The consequences can be serious. the study Published at the beginning of the year A 13-year study of 480,000 people in Taiwan found that those who spent most of their working hours sitting had a 34 percent higher risk of infection. They are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease and have a 16 percent higher overall risk of death than people with less sedentary jobs.

The authors write that one way to lower your risk is to add 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day to your existing routine. Other research Additionally, it suggests that sedentary people should double the standard weekly exercise recommendations.

“The bottom line is that sitting too much is a new big health risk,” said Neville Owen, a senior scientist at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.