You probably hear that sitting too much can be harmful. Sitting is the new smoking, is another catchy phrase going around. The average American spends almost eight hours sitting each day. This study found: Higher levels of total daily sitting time are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, independent of physical activity.
So why is sitting harmful to one’s health. How bad is sitting for your health? Can you Conter act sitting with exercise? Let’s try to answer these questions.
| How does sitting effect your health? When a person is sitting or lying down for that matter, they use their muscles less. Muscle have more than the function of moving our bones. The health risks from more sitting (or being less active in general) seem to correlate with reduced levels of muscle contractions, which affect both the muscles themselves and whole-body energy metabolism. 1. When we use our muscle it affects cardiac (heart) output and blood flow. Sitting all day make us use our heart less. INCREASEING THE CHANCE OF HEART DISEASE. Another way muscle effects heart health is by lipoprotein lipase (LPL) (a protein important for controlling plasma triglyceride breakdown, HDL cholesterol, and other metabolic risk factors. Reduce lipoprotein lipase activity causes, impair lipid (fat) metabolism increase one risk of heart disease. 2. Sitting requires less muscle activation. Skeletal muscle constitutes 40% of body mass and takes up 80% of a glucose from the blood. The less we use our muscle the less glucose it taken out of the blood and put into the muscle. This will cause the blood sugar to rise over time and could lead to insulin resistance. During sitting, muscular passivity increases insulin resistance and influences the transport and oxidation of fatty acids in muscular tissue One of the first series of controlled laboratory studies providing translational evidence for a molecular reason to maintain high levels of daily low-intensity and intermittent activity came from examinations of the cellular regulation of skeletal muscle lipoprotein lipase (LPL) (a protein important for controlling plasma triglyceride catabolism, HDL cholesterol, and other metabolic risk factors). The health risks from more sitting (or being less active in general) seem to correlate with reduced levels of muscle contractions, which affect both the muscles themselves and whole-body energy metabolism. Sedentary behaviors reduce lipoprotein lipase activity, muscle glucose, protein transporter activities, impair lipid metabolism, and diminish carbohydrate metabolism. Furthermore, it decreases cardiac output and systemic blood flow while activating the sympathetic nervous system, ultimately reducing insulin sensitivity and vascular function. It also alters the insulin-like growth factor axis and the circulation levels of sex hormones, which elevates the incidence of hormone-related cancers. Increased sedentary time impairs the Gravito stat, the body’s weight homeostat, and weight gain, adiposity, and elevated chronic inflammation caused by sedentary behavior are risk factors for cancer. Sedentary behaviors have wide-ranging adverse impacts on the human body including increased all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, cancer risk, and risks of metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia; musculoskeletal disorders such as arthralgia and osteoporosis; depression; and cognitive impairment. Therefore, reducing sedentary behaviors and increasing physical activity are both important to promote public health. |
Sedentary Lifestyle: Overview of Updated Evidence of Potential Health Risks (nih.gov) Why is excessive sitting a health risk? – PubMed (nih.gov) Lipid metabolism, exercise and insulin action – PubMed (nih.gov) Sitting Time, Physical Activity, and Risk of Mortality in Adults – PubMed (nih.gov)