It’s about time that we kick that chair and stand up! Well, as per the recent studies sitting is the latest health hazard and those of us who are used to spending hours and hours of time being sedentary are at an increased risk of diabetes and heart diseases not to forget even premature death.
The latest research carried out by University of Leicester and published in the journal Diabetologia along with the results of 18 studies and 800,000 people are of the opinion that sitting can double the risk of heart diseases and diabetes and people who exercise regularly are at an equal risk of the above mentioned diseases.
The research points out that sitting, since it is a low energy activity, induces the body to produce more insulin as our body thinks that we are on energy saver mode. So this leads to increase in insulin level in blood and increase in bad cholesterol levels thereby leading to decrease in good cholesterol levels which automatically results in risk of heart diseases and diabetes.
The authors of the journal also add that people while they are sitting or are sedentary use very little energy that merely amounts to one MET whereas while walking they tend to consume four times more energy than they do while sitting. This study has also confirms a similar study that featured in the Australian paper Archives of Internal Medicine where in 200,000 people over the age of 45 years and above were tested. It was found that those who spent 11 hours and more sitting had 40% greater risk of dying over the next three years when compared to those who sat for 4 hours a day.
This link has lead to a new area of study called Inactivity research. Inactivity has been considered a cause for obesity but seems like now it’s going to be responsible for killing people prematurely as well.
To reduce the risk, well, one can always take regular walks and give the couch a miss.
Loading ...
Follow Us On Twitter
Post a Comment