In “First World” countries, adults spend the majority of their waking hours in sitting position. From driving to work in a car to eating lunch at a table, a huge portion of one’s day is spent sitting down in some form of a chair. Although sitting itself seems like a harmless action, sitting for prolonged period of time is detrimental because while one is sitting, one remains stagnant and inactive. The long hours spent not performing physical activity lead to health risks associated with living a sedentary lifestyle, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, excessive weight gain, type 2 diabetes, lower back pain, muscle degeneration, osteoporosis, and cancer. The greatest health risk that follows prolonged sitting is increased risk of early death.
On a weekly basis, adults are recommended to perform a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, where moderate intensity exercise, here, is equivalent to walking at 3.5 miles an hour or cycling at 10 miles an hour. However, research has revealed that 60 to 75 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every day is needed in order to combat the health risks associated with sitting for eight or more hours a day.
Image Source: Thomas Barwick
Because it is quite unrealistic and difficult to change our habits to perform our daily duties standing, it is all the more important to emphasize the need for sufficient amounts of daily exercise. Some ways to include physical activity might be scheduling in a morning walk or a jog after dinner around the neighborhood. Don’t be limited in thinking that you have to go all the way to the gym to get some physical activity done. Rather than a treadmill, look for the nearest hiking trail and grab a friend to go on the weekends. Especially for all you Pokemon GO (a phone app) lovers, this is the perfect excuse to both hang out with your buddies and get your daily exercise in all the while catching all those pokemon.
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