Even if you’re active at the gym, the evils of sitting too long can bite you in the rear. A recent article in NewScientist stated it plainly: Workouts are no antidote to death by desk job.* So, no matter how much running, hockey or spinning you do, throughout the day you’ve got to get up and take a walk. Often!

Consider how long you spend in your seat: probably more time sitting than sleeping. On average most North Americans spend 9.3 hours a day on their butts compared with 7.7 hours in bed. Sitting is so prevalent and so pervasive that we rarely notice how much we’re doing it, nor question its health risk. But research shows that too many hours of sitting demonstrates an independent association with chronic disease and mortality.**

As soon as you sit, electrical activity in the leg muscles shuts off. Calorie burning drops to 1 per minute. Enzymes that break down fat drop by 90%. After two hours good cholesterol drops by 20%.

If your job has you sitting most of the time, then you have double the risk of cardiovascular disease compared with folks who spend more time standing. And it doesn’t matter if you bike to work or head out to the gym after work – extended chair sessions pose a health risk.

The solution is to interrupt sitting whenever you can.

So, Learn to Walk.

And mark Wednesday December 10th in your calendar when the VGH Commuter Centre, Taking Care of Me and LadySport host an inter-active seminar to help you put your best foot forward.

Learn to Walk is a one-hour interactive session giving you the opportunity to make sense of too-much marketing information. Sharpen your tech talk with a full range of trial walking, running and cross-training shoes as you understand the benefits, risks and nuances of footwear choices.

Bring a friend or meet a new walking buddy. Gather information and offer advice as VCH seeks to help you to keep active and defeat the evils of sitting. Register for this free event in Room 9299 at the Diamond Centre – Wed Dec 10th from noon to 1pm.

More details right here in next week’s VCH News!