Did you know that the World Health Organization ranks inactivity, as in sitting for long periods of time, as the fourth killer of adults Worldwide?
For every hour you sit, your life expectancy decreases by two hours. Compare that to smoking a cigarette that cuts your life expectancy by 11 minutes.
One study shows a single hour of sitting can impair blood flow to the main leg artery by as much as 50%. The good news is that simply taking a five-minute walk for every hour spent sitting can offset the heat disease risks associated with chronic sitting.
Other research shows that those who sat the longest on a daily basis were twice as likely to have diabetes or heart disease compared to those who sat the least. Studies show that about 6 hours of sitting effectively counteracts the positive health benefits of a whole hour of exercise!
Now for the worst news, the former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division revealed that sitting prevents your body from interacting with and exerting itself against gravity. This uninterrupted sitting mimics a microgravity situation, which accelerates the aging process. The study goes on to say that women who sat the longest on a daily basis were, on average, eight years older, biologically speaking, that those who were less sedentary!
So, to stay healthy, sit less and walk 10,000 to 15,000 steps per day! Yes, you need to buy that special watch!
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