You are slowly ageing yourself. And exercising doesn't completely solve it.

Source: Sander Kers

You are slowly getting older. And exercising doesn't completely solve it.

The average adult sits for 5 to 11.5 hours a day (yes, that’s a big difference).

And it does more to your body than you think.

Sitting a lot for two weeks decreases your fitness just as much as around seven years of aging, and you rapidly lose muscle mass.

Sitting for just one day makes people about 39 percent less sensitive to insulin. And that’s just the beginning.

What sitting too much does:

it raises your blood pressure and worsens your blood vessels.

It disrupts your sugar balance.

it increases your belly fat.

it restricts the blood supply to your brain.

it triggers a silent, low-grade inflammation.

and this list goes on infinitely with things you would rather not read.

Sitting for long periods increases the risk of almost every serious condition, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers.

Even if you exercise regularly, you still incur some of that damage. To put it more strongly: 1 hour of exercise a day does not compensate for a day of sitting.

Interrupting sports and sitting are two completely different things.

For those who sit a lot, the greatest health benefit comes from breaking up sitting (I repeat: not from exercising, which is of course also healthy to do). And there isn't much needed for that, on paper:

stand up every 20 to 30 minutes (for example, set a timer)

Exercise for 2 to 6 minutes, light to moderate.

take your phone calls while walking

Take a short walk after a big meal.

fidgeting and squirming while sitting for a long time, even that does something.

Small, simple, and most importantly: all day long. Stop sitting for long periods of time.

In the coming weeks, I will summarize a major scientific review by Pinto et al. (2023) on sitting (and moving) in 5 parts:

Part 1: sitting and your sugar metabolism and your weight

Part 2: sitting and your heart, your blood vessels, and your condition

Part 3: Sitting and Your Muscles and Bones

Part 4: Sitting and Your Brain

Part 5: sitting and inflammation in your body

Per part: why it is poorly addressed, and what you can simply do about it.

Follow me if you want to keep following this series. Part 1 next week.

Bron: Pinto AJ, et al. Physiology of Sedentary Behavior. Physiol Rev. 2023;103(4):2561-2622.