Take A Stand, It’s Better For Your Health

A recent study shows that too much sitting can be dangerous for your health and ultimately alter your life span. Research is preliminary, but several new studies suggest that people who spend most of their time sitting, are more likely to be overweight, have a heart attack or even die, the Associated Press reports.

This is bad news for Americans, as recent surveys revealed that those in the U.S. spend more than half of their time sitting — be it at the office, in their cars, or in front of the television.

In light of the studies, the focus of health officials is beginning to shift to rethinking the requirements for daily amounts physical activity and highlight the dangers of prolonged sitting. While health officials have issued guidelines recommending minimum amounts of physical activity, they haven’t suggested people try to limit how much time they spend in a seated position.

Even for people who exercise daily, spending long stretches of time sitting at a desk is still overall harmful to health. Those who exercise daily — but still spend hours sitting — might get more benefit if that exercise were spread across the day, rather than in a single bout, the researchers concluded.

The research didn’t reveal exactly how much sitting is bad for you, but researchers said they do know the more you can break up long periods of sitting, the better your overall health will be.