So you think you’re active?

So you drive to work, sit at a desk for 8 hours and drive home… 5 days a week, BUT you hit the gym 5 days a week after work!

Sport England thinks you’re “active” (more so than 95% of the UK population in fact) the government thinks you’re active plus your muscles are growing. But I hate to break it to you, you’re not active enough!

Sitting for prolonged periods a day has wider reaching negative health consequences that you may realise:

• You’ll burn off less calories (obvious right?), but your general metabolism slows down and you’ll have a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese (along with all the negative health consequences linked to that)
• You have a higher risk of dying younger! – The extreme I realise, but the US National Library of Medicine – National Institute of Health state that being sedentary increases your risk of early death by up to 49%.
• 112% increase risk of type 2 Diabetes (Due to increased insulin resistance) and 147% increase in risk of Cardio Vascular Disease
• British Heart Foundation have also linked long periods of sitting to poor mental health such as depression. So actually taking a break from your computer screen at work will make you more productive!
• 11.6% of ALL deaths in the UK are caused by sitting too much, which equates to 70,000 needless deaths!

Essentially exercising for 60 minutes a day, so that you can sit or lie down for the other 23 hours, is not going to cut it. You can’t outrun a bad diet, and you can’t out-exercise a sedentary lifestyle.

What can you do?

• Get an activity tracker which reminds you when you’ve been inactive for over 60 minutes
• Take regular breaks where you walk e.g. to the toilet, water fountain or simply whilst on the phone
• Stand for the first 15 minutes of every meeting you go to (Or even have a walking meeting!!)
• TAKE A LUNCH BREAK! – Integrate a walk followed by eating
• Aim to hit your 10,000 steps a day by spreading them out every hour instead of in one big burst
• Try and stand every 20 minutes to break up sedentary behaviour

Be Active, Stay Active and live longer!