Sitting on the Job

The fitness industry is booming right now. Job opportunities are seemingly endless and a high percentage of people are participating in a fitness program of some sort (this number is apparently at 73% but I am not so sure I believe that). Now, this stuff is great for all those involved, BUT it is unfortunately not translating to a fitter society. One common deterrent: sitting on the job. Now this will not only piss your boss off, but it will also put a hurting on your health. The data on sitting down is downright scary. 

A 2010 study found that men who spent more than 23 hours a week sitting had a 64 percent greater chance of dying from heart disease than those who sat for 11 hours a week or less. This includes sitting at work, on your drive to and from work, watching television on your bum, etc. Now this stat may not be all that surprising to most of you out there but there was one alarming find: the number of hours that you workout per week does offset that risk factor. You can train 6 days a week but if you spend 23+ hours sitting down, you are still considered high risk! It goes to show, adding a positive health factor is not always the answer. It is removing the unhealthy behavior that will give you the needed health boost. 

One area to address: the workplace. Standing on the job can have a tremendous impact on your health. The BBC cited that those who stood for 3-4 hours during their workday, their heart rate raised by 10 bpm. The increase in heart rate will boost the amount of calories burned per hour by nearly 50 calories! It does not sound like much, but over the course of the year, if you decide to stand an additional 2-3 hours per workday (an additional 150 calories per day), you could burn an additional 30,000 calories that year, or 8 pounds of fat! If you want to compare that to an activity, it would be the equivalent of running 10 marathons that year! So just remember: Change your environment, change your health.

Chris Fluck