There are so many factors that contribute to the obesity rates in the western world and it definitely is a complex issue.
What's worse, as the world continues to evolve into a more technological driven society, people are spending a lot more time sitting in front of that technology instead of being up and moving on the job.
According to ongoing research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana the more hours a day a person sits, the more likely they are to die an early death regardless of the amount of exercise they do.
This means that if a person has a job where they're on their feet all day, they are better off than a person who sits at a desk for 7 hours a day but jogs several miles before or after work.
This is based on a 2007 study from the University of Missouri that revealed that people who had active jobs burned many more Calories a week than people who ran 35 miles a week but had sedentary jobs.
Researchers say that sitting contributes to all kinds of health problems including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and muscle, spine, and other skeletal issues. Some businesses are switching on to this research and providing their employees with devices like the Trek Desk so workers can be moving as they work.
What do you think about our evolving sedentary lifestyle? Participate in the poll and comments below.
Source: Men's Health on MSNBC
How many hours a day do you sit?
3 or less 4-6 7-9 10 or more View results Exercise obesity 9 Comments Ann on 27 Oct 2010I'm so glad I got up at 6am to run before work today. I wish this had pointed out that people with a sedentary job who exercise won't die as early as the people with sedentary jobs who don't exercise ...
Reply Stephanie on 27 Oct 2010Exactly! I can't change the fact that my job has me chained to a desk all day. If I could, I already would have! But I can change how active I am outside of work. I wish this had been more kind to those with sedentary jobs instead of just acting like it's the one way train to obesity.
Reply bijou on 27 Oct 2010so white collar office workers are basically sentenced to death by obesity regardless of their nutrition and exercise choices. we all might as well gorge on every box of donuts and bucket of fried chicken we see and then pass out in front of the tv, because we're all doomed to be obese anyway.
i appreciate research illustrating the ill effects of a sedentary lifestyle, but it's articles like these that make people give up (or not even begin trying to take up) a healthy lifestyle.
every little bit helps! every healthy choice you make will pay dividends! if you're an office worker and you're really concerned about sitting all day, take the stairs, take a 10 minute walk during lunch, drink more water and walk to the bathroom often! ladies, instead of sitting during #1, master the squat! it's excellent for toning butts and thighs! and...working out before or after work helps tremendously!
it's time to stop worrying about what's beyond our control and actually DO what IS in our control.
Reply Zoran on 27 Oct 2010it's time to stop worrying about what's beyond our control and actually DO what IS in our control.
I totally agree, but here's what's bothering me. We're creatures of habit, but we often use this as an excuse of our bad habits. How we can for once start doing what's good for us, how we can get a good habit? In my 20s I used to go to the gym without ever missing a workout. 20 years later, I have a well equipped home gym, but I hardly ever go in that room, I'm an 8 hours sitter, a total fat ass and I'm not even fat, actually I'm a skinny guy. One thing I know, we all know the theory quite good, but how to turn that in practice is beyond my knowledge.
As someone who has had a stand up job in a food service for almost the last 24 years, I find this study very difficult to believe- I would almost dare to say it is bogus. I have been battling obesity while I had this job most of the time. Not only was I overweight, but I had very high cholesterol as well- standing up was of little help. There is one woman who stands up all day as a cook in our department and she is 200 pounds overweight. Many other persons in our department are also seriously overweight, even though they stand up most of the work day. Standing up according to the calculator on healthstatus.com only burns 100 more calories in 8 hours than sitting down does- about 910 vs 810 for someone of my weight of 158. This is a little over 100 calories an hour, whereas running can burn at least 500 calories in an hour. 8 hours of running at only 6mph burns 7680 calories. I only lost weight from purposeful exercise, such as biking and running, never by having a stand up job. Perhaps if they are comparing jobs such as movers of furniture and lumberjacks to persons who have sit down jobs, this might have validity. But, from my experience and that of many others in my food service department, just standing up all day does NOT burn that many more calories than sitting down does, and I also don't believe by itself that it protects persons from any kind of health problem.
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