There is a plethora of research demonstrating that a sedentary lifestyle is detrimental to one’s health and longevity.
A cross-sectional study examining the effects of sitting time and physical activity in over 900 male workers demonstrated that the most sedentary individuals had a higher body mass index, a greater waist circumference, and higher systolic blood pressure. [1] They also had worse lipid profiles with higher C-reactive protein levels (a marker for inflammation,) higher insulin resistance, and higher insulin concentrations.
Interestingly, these increased biomarkers of inflammation and insulin resistance remained after adjusting for the physical activity of the workers—thus, the occasional 20-minute run in someone who otherwise lived a sedentary lifestyle didn’t appear to fix the problem.
However, this is not a universal conclusion. Other research has found that when the physical activity is moderate to vigorous, and in doses equivalent to meeting the current recommendations, physical activity does attenuate or effectively eliminate all-cause and CVD mortality risk caused by too much sitting, among the least physically active adults. [2]
What is clear is that chair-sitting postures lead to a decrease in muscular contractions, which, in turn, leads to a decrease in muscle metabolism. It is this metabolic decrease that is associated with the health risks of too much sitting.
Continue reading Doc Smith’s article on thepaleodiet.com. This article excerpt used with permission of The Paleo Diet, LLC.