Jun 23, 2011

Smoking vs Sitting

From CBS Health -Smoking cigarettes is the cause of so much preventable, deadly disease. But now new research shows sitting for long stretches of time may be just as dangerous.

“Smoking certainly is a major cardiovascular risk factor and sitting can be equivalent in many cases,” explained Dr. David Coven.

Dr. Coven is a cardiologist. He says several new studies show prolonged sitting is now being linked to increased risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and even early death.

“The fact of being sedentary causes factors to happen in the body that are very detrimental,” said Dr. Coven.

Dr. Coven says when you sit for long periods of time; your body goes into storage mode,

When that happens, it stops working as effectively as it should. What’s worse, the more hours a day you sit, the greater your likelihood of developing one or more of these diseases, just as with smoking.

Linda Caufield has a desk job. She sits nearly seven hours a day.

“I’m on the computer, I’m on the phone, I’m doing paperwork so all that stuff has to be done at my desk,” she said.

So get up at the office at any chance you get, don’t send emails when you can deliver the message in person, take the stairs, stand up when you take a phone call. And don’t forget to take your breaks, and take a walk.

To view research from American College of Cardiology click here.