People always equate relaxing with sitting. Probably most of you agree, but the problem is if you sit for most of your waking hours, you’re slowly killing yourself. At least, that’s what four experts say in a detailed infographic presented here.
About the serious health issue mentioned earlier, one of my friends heeded the warning. He’s a freelance writer like me, and he had developed a bad habit of sitting for long periods of time. Back then, most of the time, he was chained to a chair hitting keys on his keyboard. Every day, his wife would urge him to go out and go walking. She would push him to step out of his office and move around so he won’t develop some dreadful disease. He did. Today, he is thankful he listened to his wife, because more and more materials pop out from different sources covering deadly issues associated with sitting for extended hours.
Reporting by Bonnie Berkowitz; Graphic by Patterson Clark
THE EXPERTS | Scientists interviewed for this report
James A. Levine, inventor of the treadmill desk and director of Obesity Solutions at Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University.
Charles E. Matthews, National Cancer Institute investigator and author of several studies on sedentary behavior.
Jay Dicharry, director of the REP Biomechanics Lab in Bend, Ore., and author of “Anatomy for Runners.”
Tal Amasay, biomechanist at Barry University’s Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences.