“The soul of the nation is sapped, and now it’s time for the soul of the nation to rise.”
A call to action to combat the national debt? The recession? The recovery?
Wrong. These are the words of Dr. James Levine, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. An article by James Vlahos in the April 17 Sunday New York Times Magazine, entitled “What’s the most unhealthful thing you do every day?” challenges long-held beliefs about human health and obesity. The key, actually, is held in the word ‘obesity’ itself: sit.
Through a series of studies in which subjects wear special underwear with sensors that track every move the person makes during a specific period of time. The study also strictly controls what subjects eat, with calories measured to the last microbe.
The result is that people who spend more time sitting than moving have 20 percent higher death rates. Levine has named his field of study ‘inactivity’ study, or NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) the opposite of we people in the fitness industry who are obsessed with aerobic and cardio exercise.
“Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym.”
Now what? It seems that when a person is sitting, certain movements can stimulate calorie burning. Tie your shoes. Fidgeting is good. On this, I am so sorry I admonished my daughters to ‘stop wiggling.” Wiggling is good! If you can, stand up while working -James Joyce, Donald Rumsfeld, Abe Lincoln, Mark Twain - you not only burn calories, supposedly you can be more focused. Steelcase has even come up with a desk attached to a treadmill, called Walkstation.
I leave it to you. I am writing this on the CalTrain. If I stand up, I’ll bump my head. Your thoughts are welcome, as long as you send them while standing.
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April 18, 2011
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“Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym.”
Posted by: flagyl online | August 22, 2011 at 08:25 PM
My friend was born with one and I was wondering if he's going to die sooner than the rest of us.
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