Get Up!

A new study from the American Cancer Society shows that your risk of death is dependent on number of hours spent sitting, not just overall activity or inactivity, particularly for women.

• Women who reported more than six hours per day of sitting were 37% more likely to die during the study period than those who sat fewer than three hours a day.
• Men who sat more than six hours daily were 18% more likely to die than those who sat fewer than three hours per day.

When combined with lack of physical activity, the association was even stronger. Women and men who both sat more and were less physically active were 94% and 48% more likely, respectively, to die compared with those who reported sitting the least and being most active.

Source: "Leisure Time Spent Sitting in Relation to Total lMortality in a Prospective Cohort of US Adults." Alpa V Patel, Leslie Bernstein, Anusila Deka, Heather Spencer Feigelson, Peter T Campbell, Susan M Gapstur, Grahm A Colditz, and Michael J Thun. Am J Epid Published online July 22, 2010 9DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwq155) as quoted in the August, 2011, issue of The Chiropractic Journal.

The authors conclude that "public health messages and guidelines should be refined to include reducing time spent sitting in addition to promoting physical activity."

The Mayo Clinic's N.E.A.T. lab recommends setting up a monitor and keyboard station over a treadmill and then walking at a rate of one mile per hour while working -- better for your body, and you'll think better, too!