Live Healthy By Walking

The Sitting Disease

In a recent study of 37,000 people it was discovered that sedentary living which is defined as going from bed to car to chair to couch is a very serious health disease.  I’m sure this includes kids who sit at school most of the day; comes home to do homework; watches television or plays on the computer. 

 

We are all guilty of too much sitting.  Why does this matter?  By sitting we are building up a dangerous fat issue called visceral fat.  Visceral fat is the fat deep inside your belly, around your internal organs and can causes diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure and other medical diseases.  If you ever watch the “The Biggest Loser”, a weight loss television show, they have a doctor who visually shows the visceral (internal) fat of each contestant and how it effects their body age.  I was shocked the first time I visually saw the effects of The Sitting Disease and what it boiled down to – a sedentary life is and their dietary habits. 

It is no longer acceptable for people to say because of their health condition they can not get up and move.  Research is done daily to show the benefits of getting up and moving your body.  Even when a people have serious operations the hospital staff gets that person up to sit in a chair the first day and the second day they have their patients walking the halls of the hospital. 

 

Walking is the best exercise everyone can do that works!  Look at these findings:

 

• 30 minute walk every day cuts heart attack risk by 30-40%.
• Women who walked 1 to 2 miles three times a week shrank belly fat cells by 18% in four months
• Stress reduction:  Another study revealed that walking helped sleep-challenged people nod off 15 minutes sooner and gain an hour of shut-eye per night.
• Walking is one the best exercises you can do to control Type 2 diabetes
• A person does not have to walk fast to achieve the same results of people who walk slower and at a longer distance. 

Get rid of “The Sitting Disease” by walking every day.  You can gain many health benefits if you walk outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air.  If you are not quite ready to go outside and walk for 30 minutes, you must get off the couch or chair and get away from your computer/home office to walk around your house for 15-30 minutes.  Get up and move your body!  I’m a healthy walker – are you?