Fight sitting disease

In this week's challenge you must Fight sitting disease . For the next week, convert one of your meetings to a walking meeting and let the ideas flow with each step. Too much sitting negatively impacts the body’s metabolic system and may increase your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers (breast and colon).Sitting for prolonged periods increases mortality and reduces life expectancy just like smoking does," says Indumathi Bendi, M.D., a primary care physician at Piedmont. "Sitting is an underrated health threat of modern times and can be labeled as 'the new smoking' or 'sitting disease' due to all the health risks it poses.The more you move, the healthier you'll be. It's never too late to get started.

Health risks of prolonged sitting:

1. Obesity


2. Stroke


3. Heart disease


4. Diabetes


5. Cancer


6. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)


7. Blood clots


8. Infection


9. Erectile dysfunction


10. Pregnancy complications


11. Early death

Environmental effects

1. Mass breeding of honeybees affects the populations of other competing nectar-foraging insects, including other bees. Overwhelmed by the ever-inflating quantities of farmed bees, the numbers of native bumblebees have declined.




2. The importing of honey into the UK also increases our carbon footprint through the emissions associated with transport. Of the honey consumed in the UK, 95% of it is imported, mostly from China and Turkey.

Unfortunately, even an hour of exercise a day may not undo the effects of sitting."Studies have proven that physical fitness does not negate the association between prolonged sitting and mortality, although mortality is worse in individuals with lower levels of physical activity," says Dr. Bendi. "Prolonged sitting causes low sympathetic activity, insulin resistance, as well as lower metabolic rate and energy expenditure, thereby promoting weight gain and its associated risks."

Here are some simple ways to fit more activity into your day:

1. Take walking breaks every hour. Set a reminder on your computer or phone and get your blood flowing. Take a lap around your office or walk a few flights of stairs.




2. Wear a pedometer to track how much you've walked each day. Aim for more steps than you walked yesterday and continue building up until you reach 10,000 a day.




3. Pace around while you talk on the phone.




4. Go for a walk on your lunch break.




5. Park as far away from the grocery store or office as you safely can to squeeze in extra steps.




6. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.




7. Catch up with a friend during a walk in the park or around your neighborhood rather than meeting for lunch or dinner.

Suggested Reading:

Why the Sitting Disease Is Bad for Your Health - Learn more here.

The Facts Behind 'Sitting Disease' - Learn more here.