In recent years, sitting has been branded the “new smoking” due to the health risks it supposedly causes, particularly for those with sedentary office jobs. Suddenly, the simple act of sitting has been linked with the onset of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even depression. Many companies have responded to these claims, going so far as to install standing desks in their offices for their employees.
But is sitting really that bad for your health?
The truth of the matter is that not all sitting is equal. For example, sitting down at work isn’t strongly linked with serious long-term health risks. One of the reasons for this may be because higher status jobs involve more sitting, and higher socioeconomic position is associated with a lower risk of chronic disease. Sitting watching TV, on the other hand, has been consistently linked with long-term health risks including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Those who watch a lot of TV every day, for instance, generally tend to be of a lower socioeconomic status and unemployed. As a result, they are constantly exposed to unhealthy food advertising, which greatly influences them to make poor meal choices.
Each of these factors significantly increases the likelihood of poor physical and mental health. Yet while these TV studies may demonstrate that excessive TV viewing is bad for our health, they tell us absolutely nothing about the health risks of sitting. Instead of demonising sitting and listening to the outrageous claims made by the media, it is wiser to consider the much wider problem of physical inactivity. This has long been proven to be the real cause of long-term health risks. The priority, therefore, is as simple as it is blindingly obvious: increase the amount of physical activity you perform every day and reap the many health rewards because of doing so.
Walking sadly remains a much underused and unappreciated tool for achieving optimum wellness. Many argue that since we do it so frequently daily, the body does not respond to it by getting fitter and stronger. However, such people are missing out on the many benefits that walking provides. Any calories burnt or fitness results produced are nothing more than a nice bonus. The real benefit of walking is that it greatly helps decrease your stress levels. It does so by removing you from the situations and environments which typically trigger stressful feelings within you. Decreasing your stress levels helps reduce the amount of cortisol released in your body.
Known as “the stress hormone”, the effects of too much cortisol in the body include impaired cognitive performance, suppressed thyroid function, higher blood pressure and increased abdominal fat. Outdoor walking is a wonderful way of decreasing stress. While you are enjoying a brisk walk in a park, for example, your thoughts will drift away and your mind will be able to relax and wander to wherever it wants. It’s very similar to what happens during meditation. Your conscious mind is disengaged, and all your worries and concerns are put on hold. When you return to deal with them, you will do so in a much more resourceful state. Use walking to help you control stress before stress controls you. So, it is not that sitting is the new smoking, but rather a lack of exercise and regular physical activity that is the cause of so many health problems and diseases. Together with a bad diet, it is this which threatens as many lives as smoking does.
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