Too many Americans seem to be content sitting on the couch or sitting at work all day instead of taking the time to get up and move. A recent study conducted showed that sitting too much could possibly lead to heart disease.
4,800 American volunteers were used to conduct this study. Each volunteer wore an accelerometer device to measure their physical activity. The results of the study showed that those who were more sedentary were more likely to have high cholesterol, larger waste lines, and higher insulin levels. All three of those factors lead to the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Desk job's could lead to possible health risks.
“Being sedentary is a huge problem in modern times,” Manson says. “Many of us feel shackled to our computer, and really have to make a conscious effort to take breaks.” She recommends setting an alarm to go off throughout the day to remind yourself to get up and move. “It’s gotten so bad that many people will use e-mail to communicate with colleagues down the hall rather than getting up to talk to them face to face.”
It has been proven from other studies that when the body has fewer muscle contractions it will have more fats circulating in the bloodstream which can possibly lead to diabetes. It also lowers the rate of calorie-burning and probably contributes to age-related muscle loss.
While daily exercise is certainly crucial for avoiding these problems, so, too, is taking frequent breaks from sitting. As the Australian study authors write, “these findings … highlight the importance of considering prolonged sedentary time as a distinct health risk behavior that warrants explicit advice in future public health guidelines.”
This study was published January 17, 2011.
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/01/17/the_health_risks_of_a_desk_job/