PROLONGED SITTING ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU … AND HERE’S WHY

We already know that sitting down for extended stretches isn’t that great for you. Whether it’s at the office or planted on the couch after work, too much “down” time can negatively affect your health.

An American Cancer Society study says too much sitting can kill you in 14 different ways: Alzheimer’s disease; cancer; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; diabetes; heart disease; kidney disease; liver disease; lung disease; musculoskeletal disorders; nervous disorders; Parkinson’s disease; peptic ulcer and other digestive disease; stroke; and suicide.

“The simple message is that we should be moving more,” lead researcher Alpa Patel told the Chicago Tribune. “The less sitting you do, the better it is for you. Breaking up an hour of sitting with two minutes of standing or light activity can improve cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.”

Prolonged sitting can also lead to anxiety, back pain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and varicose veins. There’s also the ever-dangerous deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot commonly found in the legs (prone to happen on long-distance flights.)

Now, research out of New Zealand found that regular activity breaks in the midst of prolonged sitting proved quite effective. Researchers at the University of Otago, along with scientists from two Canadian universities, combed through 44 studies.

Their research, published earlier this month in the journal Sports Medicine, found that “prolonged sitting results in moderate elevations in postprandial glucose and insulin responses when compared to sitting interrupted with activity breaks.”

That means those activity breaks minimize the negative effects of prolonged sedentary behavior.

In other words, get off your rear ends and do a little bit of physical activity, and your body will thank you for it!