OH! Magazine - Australian Version January 2015 (Australian Version) | Page 12

SCARED OF SITTING? PERHAPS

ANNA-LOUISE
BOUVIER

YOU SHOULD BE!

Anna-Louise Bouvier explains why extended periods of sitting should
NOT be on the ‘to-do’ list if you’re chasing optimum health.
esearch, especially from the team
at Baker IDI (http://www.bakeridi.
edu.au) has shown that ‘11 hours’ is the
critical number, when it comes to risking
your health from too much sitting.

R

This is because at this point, your risk of
death from a cardiovascular event (think
stroke or heart attack) increases by as
much as 70 per cent, depending on your
other risk factors.
So, although we suspected that too much
sitting was bad for us, we now know it can
actually be fatal!
Unsurprisingly, prolonged periods of sitting
have been linked to neck and back pain,
but strong links to the development of
obesity, diabetes and even colon and
breast cancer have also been found.

you are taking on a daily basis.
Ideally, you should be hitting 10,000
steps a day. But, be warned: if you sit to
commute, sit at work, sit down while
eating lunch, sit and have coffee with your
mates, and then sit and watch TV or with
your laptop when you get home, then you
might be shocked to discover that you
aren’t even reaching 2,000 to 3,000!
Other than going for a long walk, what can
we do to boost the number of steps we take
in a day?
The key is to mix things up, every day.
Try this tips:

What is the general impact from too much
sitting?
You feel sluggish. The more you sit, the more
tired you feel, the more tired you feel, the
more you want to sit, and the cycle continues.
Over time, weight gain becomes another
issue. Some gain will be related to
metabolism, but lots of it is likely a result
of the types of food you’re consuming in a
bid to get a quick energy hit!

Use a pedometer to keep you on track
and motivated to move.

•
To learn more about the research on the
impact of sedentary lifestyle, check out
this video clip from ABC Catalyst (http://
youtu.be/NVNCm_Bqlfs)

•

Stand up when you are on the phone.
It’s an easy trigger and a great way to
break up the day.

•

Set up standing stations, both at
home and work. The top of a threedrawer filing cabinet or a chest of
drawers is a great place to review
documents or to put your laptop on.

Physiologically, why is sitting so bad for
us?
The problem seems to be
linked to changes in our
blood glucose levels,
which occurs in response
to the lack of muscular
activation.

How do we know if we are sitting too much?
The easiest way to do a definitive test is to
buy a pedometer and see how many steps

12

JAN 2015 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

As your blood glucose
drops
and
your
metabolism slows, not

only does your body slow down but so too
does your brain. As we get foggier, we
start to crave a quick energy fix, like
coffee or something sweet. While this
might lift you up for a few minutes,
inevitibly your levels will plummet again.
For a really sustained energy burst, try
going up a flight of stairs or have a quick
walk around th