William Atkins
Sunday, 25 July 2010 00:31
Science -
Health
Page 1 of 3
A study of over 120,000 U.S. adults by the American Cancer Society has shown that the more you sit around, the shorter your average life span. So, you better get up and do something.
Dr.
Alpa V. Patel, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society, is the lead researcher in the study.
She says, "
… the more time you spend sitting, the less total energy expended and you can have consequences such as weight gain and increased obesity.” [U.S. News and World Report: “
The Longer You Sit, the Shorter Your Life Span: Study”]
Patel says that sitting around means you are expending less energy, which increases weight and, thus, leads to obesity, high cholesterol, and an increased risk of all sorts of bad diseases.
Consequently, couch potatoes have a higher chance of dying earlier than someone who leads a more active lifestyle.
The
American Journal of Epidemiology article “
Leisure Time Spent Sitting in Relation to Total Mortality in a Prospective Cohort of US Adults” is authored by Alpa V. Patel, of the Epidemiology Research Program of the American Cancer Society, along with co-authors Leslie Bernstein, Anusila Deka, Heather Spencer Feigelson, Peter T. Campbell, Susan M. Gapstur, Graham A. Colditz and Michael J. Thun.
They state in the abstract to their paper:
“The obesity epidemic is attributed in part to reduced physical activity. Evidence supports that reducing time spent sitting, regardless of activity, may improve the metabolic consequences of obesity.”Page two continues.
