Your Desk Job—A Silent Killer

Researchers believe that sitting for more than six hours a day may be as harmful as smoking one packet of cigarettes everyday.

Sitting for long periods of time puts you at a greater risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. It can even lead to premature death if you don’t exercise regularly.

Studies with chilling statistics

A team in the American Cancer Society of Atlanta examined data obtained from a 14-year- long study involving 123,000 middle-aged adults. They compared the mortality rates of people who daily spent six hours sitting with those who spent less than three hours sitting everyday.

They found that women who spent extra time sitting had a 34% higher mortality rate while the mortality rate of men who spent extra time in a sedentary mode was 17% higher.

18 studies covering 800,000 people during the last 16 years confirm the conclusions of the above study.

Why is sitting for long periods harmful?

The human body isn’t built to remain inactive.

Lack of movement slows down the body’s metabolic mechanism. As a result, less food is converted into energy and accumulation of fat occurs in the body, leading to obesity.

Obesity brings with it a host of illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis and sleep apnea (temporary lack of oxygen while sleeping).

Effects of prolonged sitting on the body

Unused muscles of the body undergo atrophy and change from fibers that can burn fat to ones that depend strongly on glucose for sustenance.

Inactive muscles lose their mitochondria (the powerhouses of body cells), which can burn fat. As a result, unburned fats accumulate in the body and your blood becomes very fatty, increasing your risk of heart disease.

Inactivity leads to insulin resistance. This is a diabetes-like condition, where glucose collects in the blood even after the body produces insulin to metabolize it.

People with sitting jobs are twice as prone to heart disease when compared to those who stand and work.

You burn just 1 calorie per minute when you’re sitting.

When you sit, there’s a 90% decrease in the level of enzymes that help break down fat.

Two hours after sitting, good cholesterol drops by 20%.

How can you protect yourself if you have a desk job

Use every opportunity to take a round in your office.

Don’t sit at a spot for longer than an hour.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Exercise for an hour everyday.