We all know that smoking is bad for our health, but who would have thought that a sedentary lifestyle could be damaging in many of the same ways that smoking cigarettes is. Scientists believe that people who sit more than six hours a day are at greater risk of developing serious health issues.The American Cancer Society studied 123,000 Americans over the course of fourteen years and found that women who sat at least six hours/day were 40% more likely to die during that period than those who sat less than three hours/day. Men were 20% more likely. Prolonged sitting causes many short-term and long-term effects, as well as many health-related issues, including:
Increased blood pressure
High glucose levels
Excess body fat (particularly around the waist)
Higher cholesterol levels
125 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease
Increased risk of colon, breast, prostate and lung cancer