Our Modern Practice Of Prolonged Sitting Costs Us Our Health

Sitting for long periods is a major health hazard

. This is a new warning from health experts that say that sitting for prolonged periods (even if you exercise regularly) is a threat to good health. No matter where the sitting takes place - in the car, at the desk, at the computer or television, it is the overall number of hours that it occurs that is the problem.

Our modern lifestyle that promotes motionless activity such as when sitting creates a problem in that there is an absence of whole body movement that limits muscle contractions. After just a few hours of sitting fat and glucose (sugar) burning systems are shut down.

Without the muscular activity that keeps things pumping around the body enzymes in the blood vessels of the muscles responsible for processing fat and sugar from the blood stream cannot do their job. These excesses either get stored as body fat or hang around in the blood stream doing damage to organs and tissues.

The scientists are now discovering that even if you exercise regularly it is not enough to combat long periods spent sitting and inactive. Not only do you need to give your muscles the 'work' that they have been designed for you with intentional exercise you need to interrupt the long periods of sitting and get some movement in there as well.

It is important to exercise your muscles through their ranges of movement under a load as sitting weakens them along with the bones they are attached to. Activities that involve long duration low intensity activities are great as part of an active lifestyle but the strengthening of the muscular system needs to be put first and foremost.

The danger of blood fats and sugars that are not processed in the muscle cells for energy is that they often get stored inside the body, deep in the abdominal area as harmful fat where it wraps around organs hindering them from working properly.

This fat is not visible and is much more dangerous than fat stored on other areas of the body. It builds up inside and releases harmful chemicals that set the stage for killer 'lifestyle' diseases that are epidemic in our modern sedentary world.

So along with your strength training program 2-3 times each week you should be looking to get some activity in to your day as often as possible. You can even stand beside your desk for a few minutes every 30 minutes to an hour and do some simple exercises.

Things like squats or push ups against the desk or simply reach up, twist and bend your body are simple things you can do to get the circulation going again. Just go in any direction, the more movement you can create the better. The more you can get your muscles moving the more they can push and squeeze and reactivate circulation.

Many people have jobs where they are forced to sit for long periods but you can take control and make sure you get some movement sprinkled in to keep your body healthy throughout the day. We may have to sit on our rear end but we can take precautions to ensure it does not put us on a path to poor health somewhere down the track.

by: Gen Wright

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