Sitting Is the New Smoking

By Theresa AuCoin, CHHP, M. ED., Certified Nutritional Consultant
YourHealthDefender.com

Don’t we all already know we are supposed to exercise, to work out, to go to the gym, …as a part of our personal wellness program?  But are you consistently doing this?

Did you realize that inactivity, according to the W.H.O., is the fourth biggest killer of adults in the world?

Did you know that sitting kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting?

Did you realize that sitting can be a primary cause of cancer, heart disease, obesity, arthritis, metabolic syndrome, depression, mental decline, accelerated aging, and even low sex drive?

Imagine if there were a simple solution that almost every human being could easily incorporate into their day to solve this concerning sitting issue!

Well, you do not have to imagine any more, because the solution is simple and very do-able for most every human being, as you will soon see here.

Listed as Harvard’s first of the top five exercises is WALKING!  If you can physically walk, you can incorporate the solution to the sitting issue by daily walking. You see, just walking 30 to 60 minutes most every day reduces your risks of cancers, of Alzheimers, of dementia, of depression, and even helps you detoxify!  However there is a secret to this solution.  The “secret sauce” is consistency.  Walking 3 hours one day a week, opposed to walking 30 minutes each day for 6 days, is not the solution.  Working out in the gym 1 or 2 days a week opposed to doing a shorter workouts 5 days a week doesn’t work as well either.  It’s the consistency of moving your body every day that produces the amazing results.

How about these ideas:

• Instead of looking for a parking space close to your destination, why not park way far out to create time to walk!
• Jazz up your 30 minute walk by trying “interval fast paced walking.”  Provided your MD approves, start out warming up for about 5 minutes; begin a short 30-second burst of longer strides and a faster pace; then return to moderate walking for 2 minutes and repeat.
• Mix things up by adding in jumping jacks, skipping, and crab walking, which is bending your knees and taking long low strides.
• Put a rebounder (mini-trampoline) in your office and when the weather is too bad outside, bounce!  Rebounding may be the most effective piece of fitness equipment on the planet, allowing you core-strengthening and muscle-toning while experiencing the cardio-pumping workout.  It’s gentle on your joints too.

Are you ready to commit to a daily routine? Even just a mere 20 minutes a day can make a huge difference.  But go for 30 to 45 minutes when you can.

Did you know that the inventor of the treadmill desk, Dr. James Levine, who is the director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative, coined the term: “Sitting is the new smoking.”  Dr. Levine explains that MOVEMENT, i.e. walking and/or most any exercise, can drastically turn around the “sitting too much” illnesses.

How can daily walking affect brain fog?  Can movement actually “grow your brain?”  Can walking be a substitute for taking antidepressants?  What about weight control?  Can walking really affect your energy levels?  Get these answers and many more here.  (https://yourhealthdefender.com/sitting-is-the-new-smoking/). 

Theresa AuCoin, CHHP, M.ED.
Certified Nutritional Consultant

YourHealthDefender.com