Does this scenario sound familiar to you?  You work out the recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise and afterwards you just want to kick back by sitting down, taking it easy, watch some TV or get on the computer.  You may be what is called an active couch potato.  You exercise, but the vast majority of your day is primarily still spent sitting.  Warning – sitting too much could be harming your health more than you realize.

Why sitting too much is harmful

Plenty of studies have warned of us of the hazards of sitting too much throughout the day.  This is also known as sedentary behavior (from the Latin sedere, “to sit”) which includes our time spent sitting at the workplace, commuting by cars, trains or planes, screen time (TV, computer or playing video games) or low level activity in general.  We live in a society that has removed much of our need to do extensive physical work and replaced it with modern conveniences that allow us to be in a seated position most of the day.  Our bodies are built to move and the less we do this, the more our bodies weaken and decline.

Even for the person who is achieving the recommended health guideline for physical activity, if the majority of their day is still spent sitting for extended periods of time such as at work, they are identified as an active couch potato according to a 2010 study.  This active couch potato phenomenon makes you susceptible to developing metabolic syndrome which includes increased blood pressure, diabetes and elevated LDL cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels.   This study also looked at the sedentary activity of  TV time being a negative influence in a couple of ways – one, most of us sit to watch TV and two, because our hands are free when watching TV, it provides a greater opportunity for consuming more calories from food and beverages.  The more we sit during the day, the less calories we burn and the more likely we will gain weight.

Guidelines for exercise

Currently, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise.  This can include brisk walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming or any other mode of activity that focuses on duration, intensity and frequency.  This training can be progressively increased to 5 to 7 days a week for an accumulation of 250 to 300  minutes a week.  Muscle strengthening activities at least 2 times a week is also necessary to maintain muscle mass and for increasing the rate at which you burn calories.

How exercise reduces risk of disease

• Reduces risk of developing diabetes and better management of pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.
• Improved body composition – less body fat and more muscle mass
• Improved bone density
• Reduces risk of becoming overweight to obese
• Enhanced resistance to colds and other infectious diseases as it strengthens the immune system
• Lowers risk of some types of cancer – colon, breast, endometrial
• Develops strong circulation and lung function
• Lowers risk of cardiovascular disease
• Helps with more restful, beneficial sleep
• Lowers incidence and severity of anxiety and depression
• Slows down biological aging

Ideas for moving more and sitting less throughout the day

We all find ourselves at times sitting a little more often than we should during the day.  We don’t have to be on the go at all times, but the more movement we can blend into our lifestyle, the less sedentary we become and the more health benefits we gain. 

There is a very helpful website students from the University of New Mexico have created called “Don’t Sit, Get Fit.”  It gives numerous ideas on ways to reduce sitting and increase movement during the day whether at work, school, home or in your lifestyle.  Here is a sampling of those ideas:

• Take a walk break every time you take a coffee break
• Stand up and move whenever you have a drink of water at work
• When watching TV, stand up and move every time a commercial comes on
• Pace the sidelines at your kids’ athletic games
• After reading 6 pages of a book get up and move a little

The importance of just adding in more total time of movement throughout the day was highlighted in a 2005 study.  This study showed that lean people did indeed move more than obese people – leaner men and women were on their feet either standing or walking 2.5 hours  each day more than obese participants who were seated 164 minutes longer each day than the lean participants. 

The next time you find yourself sitting longer than you should, stand up and move around – every little bit of activity adds up over the course of a day keeping you more lean, more fit and less likely to develop metabolic syndrome.

ABOUT CHERYL MUSSATTO

REGISTERED DIETITIAN

Cheryl Mussatto has over 30 years of experience as a Registered Dietitian and has worked in a variety of settings that cover a wide span of nutrition experience.  Currently she works as an adjunct professor for two community colleges, Allen Community College in Burlingame and Butler Community College in Council Grove, Kansas teaching two courses, Basic Nutrition and Therapeutic Nutrition. Cheryl also is a contributing author for osagecountyonline.com, an online newspaper and Edietitians, a global free nutritional and health magazine. Her articles for both publications pertain to nutrition topics that cover a diversity of health and nutrition interests for the general public.  She is also certified as a health and wellness coach.