06/10/2023
“Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death," says James Levine, Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, in an interview with the LA Times. "The chair is out to kill us."
Scary Mary! Dr Levine’s work is what convinced me to prioritise my daily step count and to stand whilst working at my desk.
His research estimated that, in the US, people spend more than half of their waking hours sitting down, either watching TV, driving, or sitting at a desk at work or home. This in itself is not a problem, however, when serious health issues including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are linked to sitting down then it becomes a real concern.
Gavin Bradley, Director of Active Working, an international group aimed at reducing excessive sitting, explains part of the process, “Metabolism slows down by 90% after 30 minutes of sitting. The enzymes that move the bad fat from your arteries to your muscles, where it can get burned off, slow down. The muscles in your lower body are turned off. And after two hours, good cholesterol drops 20%. Just getting up for five minutes is going to get things going again. These things are so simple they’re almost stupid.”
If you need any more convincing, there’s plenty of evidence based research on the subject available online - just look up Dr James Levine and you’ll be off down a research rabbit hole in no time.
If you’re not already one of the step obsessed, you might want to give it some serious consideration.
Be Well,
Nat x
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