Sitting at a desk all day or being a couch potato at home are two of the worst things you can do for your body. Sedentary lifestyles have been known to reduce the years we have on this Earth. But there are a couple of simple things you can do to avoid an early demise.
Genevieve Healy, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland in Herston, Australia – and the lead author of a new study on the dangers of sitting too much, says that standing more can not only help prevent the onset of diabetes, weight gain, and high blood sugar and cholesterol levels, it can help slim your waist as well!
“Switching some of your sitting time to standing could have benefits for your heart and metabolism,” Healy said. “More time spent standing rather than sitting could improve your blood sugar, fats in the blood and cholesterol levels, while replacing time spent sitting with time walking could have additional benefits for your waistline and body mass index.”
Researchers concluded that an additional two hours a day spent standing rather than sitting resulted in almost 2 percent lower blood sugar levels and 11 percent lower average triglycerides. It was also shown to increase the HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
Additionally, the study showed that replacing two hours a day sitting with walking or running resulted in about 11 percent lower average body mass and an almost 3-inch smaller waist on average.
Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a cardiology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said, “Many studies have found that the amount of sedentary time is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and premature death.”
So, we can make a simple choice to do something good for our bodies and help prolong our lifespans. Stand-up and get moving and increase your chances for many more trips around the Sun!
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