The Study: aRole of Low Energy Expenditure and Sitting in Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease,a Diabetes, November 2007

The Findings: Marc Hamilton and his team at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that the recommended 30 minutes of exercise per day may not be enough to counteract health problems caused by sitting and sleeping the other 23.5 hours. Their research on the metabolism of rats, pigs and humans suggests that after several hours on our butts, our bodies shut down fat- and cholesterol-burning mechanisms, but standing switches those metabolic functions back on, and calorie-burning is effectively doubled.

Why Bother? Hamilton argues that since only 5 percent of Americans exercise regularly, simply staying upright by working at a standing desk or pacing while taking the occasional phone call may be a more practical first step toward good health for most Americans than asking them to go jogging on their lunch break. aWe need to focus on the fact that if sitting is a cause of disease in most people,a Hamilton says, athen avoiding sitting is the most direct and simple recommendation to start with.a

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