If you work an office job, then you might need to consider your health
If you’re sitting down while reading this you may want to get up because according to a study it’s bad for your health. While sitting isn’t good for you scientist say that not all sitting is bad.
Journal of the American Heart Association learned of some new findings when it comes to those who are desk-bound for the majority of the day. According to data, sitting at work may not be as bad for your heart and longevity as sitting and watching television during your free time.
“There’s been a lot of talk about how sitting is the new smoking,” says author Jeanette Garcia, an assistant professor of sport and exercise science at the University of Central Florida. “But is all sitting created equal? The results from our study suggest that, no, perhaps it’s leisure-time sitting that’s more of a risk than occupational sitting.”
The study was done on over 3,000 African American adults who reported the amount of time they’d spent sitting at work, watching television and exercising over the previous year. The researchers monitored the participants’ health over eight years, during which 129 had a cardiovascular issue and 205 died.
What the researchers did find, though, was that those who sat for long periods of time doing leisure activities had a higher chance of getting heart disease.
“If you’re watching a show or a movie, you don’t get up,” she says. “At the office, usually you have to go get up and talk to someone or go out to get a drink of water. Breaking up sedentary time is actually associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.”