The productivity of the average worker has skyrocketed thanks to technology, but it comes at the price of a sedentary lifestyle. And mounting research suggests that sitting at your desk for eight hours a day can have a dramatic impact on your health.
Don’t get me wrong. I burn plenty of calories typing emails. And I make a point to always click and drag through long websites and documents — scroll wheels are for lazy people. But all that strenuous activity pales in comparison to the exercise my forebears did on the job 50 years ago (killing dinosaurs). In the 1960s, nearly half of all jobs required physical activity. Today, less than 20% do. Day to day, you may not see the toll of this. But over lifetimes and large amounts of health data, the effects are pretty staggering.
For example, from 1980 to 2000, the time Americans spent sitting increased by only 8%, while exercise rates stayed the same. The result? Obesity doubled. (The prevalence of processed foods likely plays a role here too, but you get the gist.)
Now, most experts agree that being homeless and not eating are far worse for your health than having a desk job, so don’t kick your boss’s door in just yet. But the moral of the infographic below (courtesy of OnlineUniversity.net) is that you should pay attention to your sedentary habits, and be sure to take frequent breaks to stand and walk around. And, as obvious people everywhere will tell you, counter-balance your sitting sprees with regular exercise and buckets of vegetables.
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