Desk jobs bad for your heart, waist
According to research, the waist circumference increases by two centimetres and risk of cardiovascular diseases by 0.2 per cent, for every additional hour of sitting beyond five hours in a day.
Workers with desk-bound jobs, who spend too much time sitting down, have a bigger waistline and increased risk of heart disease, a new study has warned. The study suggests that waist circumference increases by two centimetres and risk of cardiovascular diseases by 0.2 per cent, for every additional hour of sitting on top of five hours, researchers said.
Also, bad cholesterol (LDL) increases and good cholesterol (HDL) decreases with each additional hour of sitting from five hours a day, they said. The study led by William Tigbe from University of Warwick in the UK advises people to sit less and be more active. Standing for as much as seven hours a day, and walking seven miles, may be needed to avoid heart disease, according to the study.
Ideas to Sit Less and Move More
- Standing more increases your energy, burns more calories, tones muscles, improves your posture and increases blood flow.
- Stand up while you are on the phone. Better yet, pace!
- Walk more around your house.
- Take the stairs.
- Hold a walking meeting.
- Walk after you eat lunch.
- Park your car farther away from your destination. Don't look for that perfect spot up close.
- Take the long route!
- Dance when you can!
- Get vigorous about your daily cleaning and cooking.
- Work your calves when you brush your teeth!
- Stand up and stretch when you're at your computer a lot.
- Don't send emails if the recipient is in walking distance. Get up, walk and talk.
- Stand up or do exercises while watching TV.
- Consider a standing workstation.
- Refill your water glass every hour.
Tigbe kitted out 111 healthy postal workers with activity monitors for seven days; 55 were office workers and 56 delivered post for a living. The study found that those who had desk jobs had a bigger waist circumference – 97 cm compared to 94 cm – and about one Body Mass Index (BMI) unit difference.
They also had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease – 2.2 per cent compared to 1.6 per cent over ten years. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Only healthy, non-smokers, with no personal history of myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, coronary heart disease, hypertension or diabetes were included in the study.
None of the participants was on any lipid, blood pressure or glucose lowering medication. "Our evolution, to become the human species, did not equip us well to spending all day sitting down. We probably adapted to be healthiest spending seven to eight hours every day on our feet, as hunters or gatherers," said Professor Mike Lean from University of Glasgow in the UK. The research was published in the International Journal of Obesity.