Sitting At One Place For A Long Time Can Kill You

It’s true; sitting on one’s rear end for extended periods is a serious threat to health.

Recent scientific findings suggest prolonged bouts of immobility such as when sitting is being linked to serious diseases that has become epidemic in our society. 

And this is the problem – the human body has been designed to be active – very active and it cannot handle the stress of our modern sedentary behaviors.

You could say we are an immobile lot; in fact we are the most physically inactive population that has ever lived on this planet. We seem to be happiest when we are doing little other than sitting.

After all we sit at work, in the car, on the couch, at the bar, at the movies, on the airplane and watching sport. We sit for hour’s practically comatose watching television, at the computer surfing the internet or playing video games. A screen of any description can hold our interest for hours.

We humans are designed for movement and lots of it. Our evolutionary history has been one characterized by a hunter-gather lifestyle which involved large amounts of vigorous physical activity as we have had to seek out our food from the environment.

This is in direct contrast to modern “easy” and “convenient” lifestyles that most of us now have, where technological advances have removed the need for physical movement almost entirely from our lives. A major part of our modern lifestyle involves sitting and many of us do it for up to 80 percent of our 16 odd waking hours each day.

This is hugely contributing to the fact that many of us are overweight.

But, the human body becoming over-fat is a modern problem – statistics for it did not even exist fifty years ago. But now the incidence of it is pandemic with as many as two-thirds of the population being overweight to some degree or another.

There are several factors that have combined to be the cause – motorized transport, labor saving devises, household appliances along with sedentary jobs where people are sitting all day. Add to that the increase of convenience foods that are energy-dense with high levels of sugars and fats but low in nutrients means we are getting fatter as a greater energy imbalance occurs between calories consumed and calories expended.

Fifty odd years is not long for research and understanding of all of these factors to have been done, so the topic of the rising tide of overweight people in our increasingly sedentary world is of great interest to scientists and researchers. A new science has evolved called “inactivity physiology” investigates the effects of inactivity and sedentary time on our bodies.

Researchers estimate that, thanks to our non-active computerized lives we burn 1,000 fewer calories a day (about half a day’s worth for most of us) than we did just 40 years ago. This is what living a sedentary lifestyle means – it is the type of existence that lacks enough movement and also does not include intentional exercise to give our body’s the muscle building and maintaining activity they must have to remain healthy and well.

It is becoming a global issue and we now have a new kid on the block called Sedentary Death Syndrome which has quickly become the third leading cause of death in the US right after heart disease and cancer.

But the problem is, it is worse that any one single disease as it is actually linked to another 30 odd serious conditions and ailments from diabetes to depression to osteoporosis. The cause of this villain is sitting and is responsible for 2 million deaths worldwide annually.

Thus sitting motionless for long periods creates a problem for us as there is an absence of whole body movement which keeps our body functioning as it is designed to be. This sedentary time leads to a weakening of muscles, bones, heart and lung function along with weight gain as the food we eat is not being used for the energy required for constant physical movement.

Even if the bathroom scales don’t reflect this fat increase it can be hidden deep in the body and muscle loss (from inactivity) hides its presence on the scales.

It does not help that most people mistakenly believe that they get enough activity from the various activities of daily living, such as routines tasks and chores, self-care and light recreational activities. But this amount of physical activity from these non-exercise things  barely counts and is totally off-set by the amount of sitting time most people engage in.

Even if you don’t have a desk job, it doesn’t mean you are off the hook. It’s not only at work where we sit. Typically people sit much more than they even realize – on the couch while watching TV or reading, while eating meals, while getting to and from work (whether driving or riding a bus or train) – to name just a few examples.

Sitting and Your Risk of Disease

One of the major factors the researchers have found to be happening is that the act of sitting down shuts down the circulation of a fat-absorbing enzyme called lipase which has profound negative effects on fat and cholesterol metabolism.

Fat in the bloodstream is normally broken down by this enzyme and then taken up by the muscle cells to be used for energy. But prolonged sitting leaves this fat in the bloodstream to do damage.  After just four hours of sitting and no muscular activity the body starts to send harmful signals and the processing of glucose and fat in the body starts to shut down.

As your body falls deeper into energy-stockpile mode, circulation slows, digestion becomes sluggish and your calorie-burning metabolic furnace dims to a flicker. Glucose and fat in the blood hang around and re-circulate with nowhere to go and end up being stored as excess fat on the belly, hips, thighs and deep inside the body clogging arteries and doing damage to organs and tissues.

It is little wonder that people who sit a lot have two to three times the rates of becoming overweight and susceptible to the killer diseases that are epidemic in the world today. Basically, lack of movement triggers really unhealthy metabolic changes and if you sit in an office chair or on your couch for more than six hours a day then here are some disturbing facts:

Your risk of heart disease has increased by up to 64 percent. You are shaving off seven years of quality life. You are also more at risk for certain types of cancer. Simply put, sitting is killing you.

We may wonder why we allowed ourselves to become so unhealthy.

We know that proper exercise is not only good for us but has now become a matter of life and death. It is not some frivolous pastime that we find time for when we have nothing better to do.

Without enough vigorous physical activity our body has no way of staying healthy. It needs this movement to stimulate the necessary hormones that instruct every cell, tissue, system and process in the human body to repair, rebuild, renew and replace itself.

To save your own life and remain vigorous and healthy you might need to do something that might feel uncomfortable and unnatural, especially at first. You need to move and exert yourself but after you overcome your inertia and do some vigorous activity; you will become aware of the immediate benefits to your mental, physical and emotional well-being. You will also recognize that this was exactly what your body needed.

Don’t let your body deteriorate from lack of use. It’s the only one you get issued with so it makes good sense to do some basic maintenance so it won’t let you down somewhere down the track.

This is such an easy problem to fix. A proper strength training exercise program performed just 2-3 times each week that keeps the muscles strong and healthy is at the top of the list.  Then smaller snatches of activity at regular intervals throughout the day. Simple things like squatting down and up a few times (even beside a desk) will engage the big muscles of the legs and get the circulation of fat burning enzymes pumping again to keep the body healthy.

Instead of looking for opportunities to be seated, look for opportunities to move as much as possible each day.

Too much chair time will kill you – there are no “ifs” or “buts” about it and you will need to move and exert yourself on a regular and consistent basis to offset the damage that is being done to your body by too much sitting.

If you do work seated consider getting a standing or height-adjustable desk. It’s become a trend, so jump on the bandwagon. It’s an easy way to reverse the amount of time sitting each day. Instead of standing as a break from sitting, you can sit when you need a break from standing.

Eventually your body will adjust and it will feel more natural to stand throughout the day. I have been using one for the last 2 years and wouldn’t go back to sitting for long stretches.

The good news is that after you have gotten used to your new found activeness, you will also become more aware of other positive benefits that you will experience. You will begin to recognize that staying strong is exactly what your body needs not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well to be truly healthy and vital.

We each have to take action to avoid becoming one of the millions of people predicted to die of preventable disease in the next decade caused by inactivity. Sitting and living an inactive lifestyle is a dangerous enemy as it is silent and hidden.  But becoming more active will defeat this villain and not only will you look better but you will feel better too.

Combine your strength training program with a satisfying whole-foods nutrition plan that supports your exercise program  and you have the perfect formula for sustaining a healthy slim body for life.

It’s time to throw away all the false statements you’ve accepted about dieting and exercise and learn what it really takes to reshape your body, take weight off and keep it off for good…

Source:          Carolyn Hansen Fitness

Why You Don’t Have To Exercise Every Day

Exercise is one of the best ways to avoid chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer, as well as an early death. But it can be tough to squeeze into a schedule: Health experts recommend about 150 minutes of moderate activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous, breath-sapping exercise, each week.

Since daily exercise isn’t realistic for everyone, researchers decided to study whether people who tend to cram their weekly exercise into one or two days on the weekend (so-called “weekend warriors”) get the same benefits as those who exercise daily. In the new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine, they found that how often a person exercises might not make a difference in determining how long a person lives.

Gary O’Donovan, a research associate in the Exercise as Medicine program at Loughborough University in England, and his colleagues analyzed data from national health surveys of more than 63,000 people, conducted in England and Scotland. People who said they exercised only one or two days a week lowered their risk of dying early from any cause by 30 per cent to 34 per cent compared to people who were inactive. But what was more remarkable was that people who exercised most days of the week lowered their risk by 35 per cent not very different from those who exercised less.

The findings support the idea that some physical activity—even if it’s less than what the guidelines prescribe—helps avoid premature death. Researchers saw benefits for people who squeezed the entire recommended 150 minutes per week into one or two days, as well as for people who didn’t quite meet that threshold and exercised less.

Exercise was also effective at reducing the risk of heart-related death. The people who exercised regularly and those who exercised a couple days a week both cut their risk by about 40 per cent. Again, the frequency of exercise didn’t seem to matter.

The same was true for risk of death from cancer. Those who exercised—whether it was every day or only a few days—lowered their risk of dying from cancer by 18 per cent to 21 per cent, compared to those who didn’t exercise. This risk reduction was true whether they met the recommended physical activity requirements or not.

“The main point our study makes is that frequency of exercise is not important,” says O’Donovan. “There really doesn’t seem to be any additional advantage to exercising regularly. If that helps people, then I’m happy.”

The results remained significant even after O’Donovan accounted for other variables that could explain the relationship, including a person’s starting BMI. In fact, the benefits were undeniable for people of all weights, including people who were overweight and obese.

That should be heartening to anyone who finds it hard to carve out time for physical activity every day.

Source:     Punch Newspapers 

January 17, 2017

Health Is A Gift You Give To Yourself

Exercise is one of the best ways to slow the aging process and counteract changes taking place within the body.

It's becoming common knowledge that exercise plays a vital role in keeping us healthy, strong, vital and most of all the key to warding off disease and premature aging.
 
Unfortunately many entrepreneurs (and others very focused on achieving) ignore their body's needs now in lieu of getting their project finished or their deadline met.

The irony is this:

Those that have the most hectic lifestyles and experience high levels of stress daily are the ones that need the benefits of exercise the most and yet many times its those very people (because they are focused on business) that are not getting it.

Not only do they not give their bodies the exercise it needs, but often times opt for "fast food" rather than wholesome foods in order to "get back to business."

They may be experiencing a high level of success in business now but at what cost? Cheating themselves out of enjoying active senior years?

All the success in life will not bring health with it.

Health is a gift you give yourself by enjoying nature's bounty in the way of diet and making your body active as it was meant to be.

In reality, you cannot wait until the ravages of a poor diet and lack of exercise begin to show their damaging effects. 

Truth is, the greatest "wealth" you will ever have in life is the gift of health and that is one gift that only YOU can give yourself.

The Simple Habit That Can Reduce Men's Risk Of Heart Attack

Nearly every day, 57-year-old Juan Bohorquez can be found exercising at his local track.

"I walk and I run one lap, which is about 1.6 miles," he told CBS News' Chris Martinez.

This type of moderate physical activity may help lower a man's risk of developing heart failure, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure. And it only takes about 20 minutes a day to reap the greatest benefits.

"Whether it's for diabetes management, hypertension, preventing heart disease, certain cancers, this is another indication for exercise at a moderate level," said Dr. Steven J. Keteyian, Director of Preventive Cardiology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Heart failure occurs when the heart is no longer able to pump as much blood as the body needs to support other organs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 5.1 million people in the United States suffer from heart failure.

For the study, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm followed over 33,000 Swedish men from 1998 until 2012 - or their first event of heart failure - to determine if physical activity was associated with heart failure risk. The results showed that both low and very high levels of exercise could increase risk of heart failure.

"There was a slight uptick in risk for those people that were highly active, heavy exercisers, and did an awful lot of activity throughout the day," Keteyian said. "I think the caution would be is if you engage in that level of exertion, make sure your doctor is aware."

The researchers also asked the participants, who were an average age of 60 years old, to report their exercise habits both in the prior year and retrospectively to when they were 30 years old. After analyzing the data, they found that men who were physically active at age 30, but not at the time of the study, did not have a decreased risk of heart failure. In other words, someone who used to exercise but let it slide eventually lost the benefit.

"Because participants in the study cohort had also provided information about their physical activity at age 30, as well as at the time of enrollment around age 60, we were able to examine the long-term impacts of physical activity on heart failure," study author Andrea Bellavia said in a statement. "We found that recent activity may be more important for heart failure protection than past physical activity levels."

Certain types of moderate physical activity, such as walking and bicycling for 20 minutes per day, were associated with the largest reduction in heart failure risk, the study authors said.

For his part, Bohorquez encourages other men to get active. "Definitely get off the couch and run or walk a half hour a day, every day," he said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/simple-habit-reduce-heart-failure-risk-in-men/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17

Sleep, Exercise May Help Battle Alzheimer's Disease

New research suggests poor sleep and a lack of exercise may increase people's risk of Alzheimer's disease, and make coping with the disease difficult after it has taken hold

Watch this video and listen to how sleep and exercise can help battle Aizheimer's Disease

It is important

10 Reasons To Go For A Walk Right Now

On an average day, 30 percent of American adults walk for exercise and with good reason.

Walking doesn’t require special equipment or athletic skills, yet it offers a host of health benefits -- from helping you lose weight and lifting your mood to controlling diabetes and lowering your blood pressure.

In fact, a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine showed that adding 150 minutes of brisk walking to your routine each week can add 3.4 years to your lifespan.

Here are 10 surprising ways to use walking to boost your health, along with tips to make starting and sticking to a walking routine more fun.

1. Walk to Manage Your Weight

Avoiding weight gain might be as simple as taking a walk.

Researchers at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston followed more than 34,000 normal-weight women for more than 13 years.

They found that, over time, the women who ate a standard diet and walked for an hour a day (or did some other similar moderate-activity exercise) were able to successfully maintain their weight.

Fun fitness tip: Buddy up for fitness -- walk with a friend, neighbor, or a four-legged pal. A study published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health found that dog-owners walked more each week and were more likely to reach the recommended levels of physical activity than those who do not own dogs.

2. Walk to Get Blood Pressure in Line

A heart-pumping walking routine can help lower your blood pressure, studies show.

A study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that moderate-intensity walking was just as effective as jogging at lowering risk of high blood pressure.

Fun fitness tip: Can’t find a full 30 minutes to walk? Spread it out throughout your day -- 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there will add up if you stick with it.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, breaking your workout into several shorter workouts throughout the day is just as effective as one longer workout session, while also making it easier to fit exercise into your schedule.

3. Walk to Protect Against Dementia

Walking, which improves cerebral blood flow and lowers the risk of vascular disease, may help you stave off dementia, the cognitive loss that often comes with old age.

According to the 2014 World Alzheimer’s Report, regular exercise is one of the best ways to combat the onset and advancement of the disease.

In addition, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh conducted brain scans on seniors and found that walking at least six miles a week was linked to less brain shrinkage.

Fun fitness tip: Download upbeat music you love to listen to on your iPod, and take it with you while you walk.

An analysis conducted by the American Council on Exercise found that music not only makes exercise more enjoyable, but it can also boost endurance and intensity.

4. Walk to Prevent Osteoarthritis

Walking is a great form of weight-bearing exercise, which helps prevent the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis, as well as osteoarthritis, the degenerative disease that causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, found that people who participated in moderate aerobic activities such as walking have the healthiest knees because walking can help maintain healthy cartilage.

Fun fitness tip: Reward yourself. After you stick to your new walking routine for a few weeks, treat yourself to a new pair of shoes, a manicure, or something else that will keep you motivated.

5. Walk to Reduce Cancer Risk

Walking may reduce your chances of developing some cancers.

Research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention found that women who walked at least seven hours per week were 14 percent less likely to develop breast cancer.

Similarly, a study conducted by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard University, found that men who were treated for prostate cancer and who walked briskly at least three hours a week reduced their chances of a recurrence.

Fun fitness tip: Explore. Try a new route around the neighborhood, pick a different trail at the park, or go walking in a new location altogether to keep it interesting.

6. Walk to Prevent or Control Diabetes

Brisk walking can help prevent and manage diabetes.

“A 20- to 30-minute walk can help lower blood sugar for 24 hours,” says Tami Ross, RD, LD, a spokesperson for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Plus, The Diabetes Prevention Program,a major government study, found that even a small weight loss -- for example, 10 to 15 pounds for a 200-pound person -- can delay and possibly prevent the onset of the disease.

Adding a brisk walk to your daily routine is one of the easiest ways to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Fun fitness tip: Dress for the occasion. A good pair of walking shoes and comfortable clothes that are easy to move in are essential for a successful workout.

7. Walk to Lower Your Heart Disease Risk

Walking may help lower your cholesterol and, in turn, your risk for heart disease.

According to the American Heart Association, walking just 30 minutes per day can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

And since regular walking can keep cholesterol and blood pressure in check, it is a great way to boost your overall heart health.

Fun fitness tip: Challenge yourself to walk more steps every day and make fitness more fun, by using a pedometer or other fitness tracking device to chart your progress.

You can set new step goals each week and even join challenges with friends and family to motivate yourself to get moving.

8. Walk to Improve Your Mood

A brisk walk can boost your mood and may even help you treat depression.

A Portuguese study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that depressed adults who walked for 30 to 45 minutes five times a week for 12 weeks showed marked improvements in their symptoms when medication alone did not help.

Fun fitness tip: Get outdoors! When the weather permits, take your walk outside, for a dose of vitamin D and an even bigger mood boost. Research published in the journal Ecopsychology revealed that group walks in nature were associated with significantly lower depression and perceived stress, as well as enhanced mental well-being.

9. Walk to Reduce Pain

It might seem counterintuitive, but to reduce pain from arthritis, start moving.

Research shows that walking one hour per day can help reduce arthritis pain and prevent disability.

The study, published in Arthritis Care & Research, determined that 6,000 steps was the threshold that predicted who would go on to develop disabilities or not. Plus, a recent study found that walking significantly improved mobility loss among patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition where clogged

arteries in the legs can cause pain and fatigue while walking.

Fun fitness tip: Add some healthy competition to your walk. As you move down the sidewalk or trail, imagine the people in front of you are rungs on a ladder.

Then, focus on walking fast enough to overtake them one by one.

10. Walk to Reduce Stroke Risk

A large, long-term study reported in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association, found that women who walked at a brisk pace for exercise had a much lower chance of having a stroke than those who didn't walk.

Researchers credit this to walking's ability to help lower high blood pressure, which is a strong risk factor for stroke.

Fun fitness tip: Join or start a regular walking club with friends or coworkers and make fun fitness plans for your outings. 

Recent research published in the British Journal of Sports and Medicine found that participants were enthusiastic, less tense and generally more relaxed after regular, organized walking groups.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/13/health-benefits-of-walking_n_7544280.html?utm_hp_ref=health-fitness&ir=Health%20and%20Fitness&utm_source=fitsugar.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article