Do You Sit Too Much?

New research results keep confirming what we have suspected all along – sitting is bad for us. But just how bad?

Even if you regularly exercise when not sitting behind your desk, the amount of sitting most of us do still significantly raises your risk for diabetes, heart disease (including strokes and heart attacks), obesity and even certain types of cancer. For every two hours of sitting, you raise your risk of colon cancer by 8 percent, endometrial cancer by 10 percent, and lung cancer by 6 percent.

Diabetes

Idealized curves of human blood glucose and insulin concentrations during the course of a day containing three meals. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Mayo Clinic did a study of how sitting affects blood sugar spiking and what they found was amazing. If the study participants went back to sitting after a meal, or ate while sitting at their desk, their blood sugar peaked and stayed there for two hours. However, if the same participants took a 15-minute walk at just 1 mph after eating, their blood sugar peaks were cut in half. Of course your risk for developing diabetes increases if you consistently have high blood sugar.

Heart Disease

When we sit, we are not burning as many calories as we would if we were up and moving around. So it takes longer for our bodies to burn off the calories we ate at lunch. This keeps the blood sugar higher for a longer period of time. And high blood sugar in effect causes tiny tears on the inside of veins and arteries – prime places for plaque to start accumulating and eventually cause heart disease. In the American Heart Journal article Circulation: Heart Failure, it documented men who sat for more than 5 hours per day increased their risk of heart disease by 34% verses men who only sat 2 hours per day.

Obesity

It is a well-documented fact that if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight as the body stores the extra calories it doesn’t need at the time. It is a natural defense mechanism so that we have fat stores to draw upon in case of lean times.

By sitting, we are not burning off the calories we had for lunch and any snacks eaten during the day. The extra calories increase your weight which starts to cause other health problems, including diabetes. In a way it becomes the “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” dilemma. Did diabetes cause your obesity or did your obesity cause diabetes?

Standing treadmill desk.

How To Reduce Your Risk

There are several things you can do to lessen your risk of health issues due to sitting. First, get up and move around - as much as possible. That can mean walking over to a colleague’s desk instead of sending an email. Frequently get up and get a glass of water from the water cooler or a cup of coffee from the break room or cafeteria. Do a short series of stretches or yoga poses in your cubicle every hour or so.

Next, take a short 15-minute walk outside after lunch. Not only will it lower your blood sugar, but it will clear your head and reduce stress.

Finally get at least 2 ½ hours of moderate to high-intensity cardio exercise per week (preferably in short 20-30 minute segments) along with muscle-strengthening workouts twice per week. (We post a short workout video every week, so be sure to check back here each Thursday for a new, fun weekly workout!) While exercise won’t completely offset the effects of prolonged sitting, it will help.

Lastly, if you have a say in your office décor, consider getting a standing desk. Your body will thank you for it.

Exercise & Type 2 Diabetes: Why You Should Care

One of the most logical and doable ways to lower blood sugar, eliminate the dangers of “cardiovascular disease,” and improve your health and welfare in general is exercise.

In spite of that, in today’s inactive world where almost every task can be carried out online, from the ergonomic chair in front of a computer, or even via text messaging, getting people to exercise more can be a hard argument to win.

The Weight of Exercise

Prevalence of diabetes worldwide in 2000 (per 1000 inhabitants). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everyone should exercise, yet the health experts tell us that only 30% of the United States population gets the recommended thirty minutes of daily physical activity, and 25% are not active at all. In fact, inactivity is thought to be one of the key reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in the U.S., because inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance.

The good news is that it is never too late to get moving, and exercise is one of the easiest ways to start controlling your diabetes. For people with type 2 diabetes in particular, exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss.

Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is on the rise. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes every year increased by 48% between 1980 and 1994. Nearly all the new cases are Type 2 Diabetes, or adult-onset, the kind that moves in around middle age. Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes include increased thirst, appetite, and need to urinate; feeling tired, edgy, or sick to the stomach; blurred vision; tingling or loss of feeling in the hands.

The causes of type 2 diabetes are complex and not completely understood, although research is uncovering new clues at a rapid pace.

However, it has already been proven that one of the reasons for the boom in type 2 diabetes is the widening of waistbands and the trend toward a more deskbound and inactive lifestyle in the United States and other developed countries. In America, the shift has been striking; in the 1990s alone, obesity increased by 61% and diagnosed diabetes by 49%.

For this reason, health experts encourage those who already have type 2 diabetes, or have precursors to diabetes, to start gaining the benefits of regular exercise and see what it can do for them. Without exercise, people have the tendency to become obese. Once they are obese, they have a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are clinically overweight. Therefore, it is high time that people, whether inflicted with type 2 diabetes or not, should get started on a physical exercise routine as soon as possible.

Getting Started

The first order of business with any exercise plan, especially if you are a “dyed-in-the-wool” couch potato, is to consult with your health care provider. If you have cardiac risk factors, your health care provider may want to perform a stress test to establish a safe level of exercise for you.

Certain diabetic complications will also dictate what type of exercise program you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics can possibly pose a risk for people with diabetic retinopathy due to the risk for further blood vessel damage and possible retinal detachment.

If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it will still benefit you to discuss your regular routine with your doctor. If you are taking insulin, you may need to take special precautions to prevent hypoglycemia during your workout.

Health (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

Start Slow

For those who have type 2 diabetes, your exercise routine can be as simple as a brisk nightly neighborhood walk. If you have not been very active before now, start slowly and work your way up. Walk the dog or get out in the yard and rake. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park in the back of the lot and walk. Every little bit does work, in fact, it really helps a lot.

As little as 15 to 30 minutes of daily, heart-pumping exercise can make a big difference in your blood glucose control and your risk of developing diabetic complications. One of the easiest and least expensive ways of getting moving is to start a walking program. All you need is a good pair of well-fitting, supportive shoes and a direction to head in.

Indeed, you do not have to waste too many expenses on costly “health club memberships,” or the most up-to-date health device to start pumping those fats out. What you need is the willingness and the determination to start exercising to a healthier, type 2 diabetes-free life.

The results will be the best reward possible - a longer, healthier, and happier life.

For ideas for fun ways to exercise that will keep you in shape with a minimal time commitment, be sure to keep an eye on this blog - or visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/exercise.html.