Have you ever flopped on the couch in the evening, feeling like you have earned some TV time after a good workout or a long walk? As long as you get in some physical activity, you are allowed to hit the couch, right? Not so fast - recent research into the area of sedentary behaviour is proving that too much sitting is a dangerous behaviour in and of itself. Even those who are meeting physical activity guidelines can have increased health risks due to too much sitting, independent of the benefits of regular physical activity. 1

Sedentary behaviours, those activities that most often take place while we are awake but sitting still, include things like watching television, sitting at work, commute time in the car, and computer and video game use. Activities that now account for a large percentage of the time we spend during the day.

Sitting still for long periods of time, and expending very little energy is now believed to raise your metabolic risk factors, those traits that raise your risk for certain health problems like heart disease, type II diabetes or stroke. In fact, studies of sedentary time spent TV watching showed increases in waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels – all indicators that put you at higher risk for developing a serious, and often preventable, disease.1

Breaking up Sedentary Behaviour - Don’t take this sitting down

Brought to you by ParticipACTION in collaboration with the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute

Issue 2- 02/13

LifestyleTips

Luckily, breaking up the time that we sit still is relatively easy to do. Here are some tips on how to reduce the risks that come with too much sedentary time:

Get up and break up sitting time. Just standing up and moving around - breaking up your sitting time - can have a positive impact on your health. This reduces the metabolic risk that comes from prolonged periods of sitting with extremely low energy expenditure. It can be as simple as this - stand up stretch your legs and go get a glass of water.

Add some movement to your commute. Sitting in the car for long periods of time in the daily commute to and from work can take its toll in adding to cumulative sedentary time. If possible, consider taking public transit – those who take transit tend to add more steps to their day and spend less time sitting. If the car is the only option, consider changing your parking routine and pick a parking lot that requires you to walk

to and from your car. Think of the farthest parking spot as the best one in the lot.

Turn off the TV. Getting pulled in to an evening of television can often become a habit, night after night. Choose the shows you want to watch, don’t just watch it because it is there! Set a time limit for yourself to one hour or less, and stick to it. Not only will you break up sedentary time, but you’ll free up time for something active and social.

Curtail surfing. Spending time on the World Wide Web can quickly turn from minutes into hours. Set up the parental controls on your computer to force yourself off the computer by certain time in the evening. Stash laptops and tablets out of sight so they are not a temptation for endless surfing. Out of sight is out of mind.

Time Out. If you spend long stretches of time in front of a computer at work, set the built-in alarm on your computer to go off on the hour as a reminder to get up from your chair. You

might need the reminder at first, but getting up and moving regularly will quickly become a habit that sticks.

Talk and Walk. How often do you find yourself talking on the phone when you realize that you’ve been on the same call for almost an hour? Make it part of your routine to stand and pace while talking on the phone. If you are having a face-to-face meeting at work with one other person, consider making it a walking meeting. Go for a stroll together while you talk shop.

Making sure that we break up the time we spend sitting is proving to be an important part of staving off the health risks that come with too much sedentary behaviour. By combining physical activity with a reduction in the time spent sitting, we can make the move to healthier, more fulfilling lives.

1 Owen, N., Healy, GN., Matthews, CE., Dunstan, DW. Too Much Sitting: The Population-Health Science of Sedentary Behaviour. Exerc Sport Rev. 2010 Jul;38(3):105-13.