13/06/2017
YOUR BIGGEST FOE IN OFFICE?
Did you know that there’s a silent killer looming around in your office?
It’s not your colleagues or your boss; in fact the killer isn’t human at all. It’s your chair that is killing you!
Are you surprised to hear this?
Most office workers are not aware that the long hours they spend at work sitting in the wrong posture can have a detrimental effect on their health. Your productivity can be hindered and your success cut short through work related injuries which is known as Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs).
And the Proof is In the Research…
Dr. James Levine, a professor of medicine at the U.S. based Mayo Clinic brought these startling facts to light through his research. From predisposed fatigue to heart attack, your chair carries a range of challenges which can rob you of your health.
We are slowly heading towards a health disaster
The growing economic landscape in India has gently coerced us into adapting a lifestyle which is replete of stress and exhaustion. Our chairs are centric to our lives. They are present at work, in our cars and our homes. We spend more time sitting than doing anything else. And do you know what it has led to?
Recent studies show that our current lifestyle is responsible for life-threatening health conditions which include:
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular Diseases
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Arthritis
• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Cancer
Home to a staggering 60 million diabetics, India has become the diabetic capital of the world.
But our work is only partially responsible for these problems
Think of the long hours you spend sitting at home and shopping online. It sounds comfortable. But is it helping your health in the long run? What about ordering food online instead of eating out? Even theatres offer plush seats and comfy sofas that chain us back to our sitting posture.
The factors that made life easy have discreetly been harming our own bodies. Mobile phones that are also part-computers now, cars that help us reach our office comfortably and desk jobs that ensure that we will not have to face the harsh weather outside – all of these are proponents of a lifestyle that our body was never designed for.
Have you ever thought what happens inside your body when you sit?
• The electrical impulse in your leg muscles shut down
• Your body burns calories at a meagre 1 calorie per minute
• Fat burning enzymes go down by almost 90%
• After 2 hours of sitting your body’s good cholesterol level experience a decrease by 20%
• After 24 hours, the chances of developing type II diabetes increases when your body’s insulin effectiveness goes down by 24%
Our Body yearns for activity, and as a result we end up playing games or surfing the internet while working. It reduces our productivity and mars our overall performance. Studies even prove that our cognitive functionalities experience a decline because of prolonged sitting.
Health and fitness entrepreneurs have found this change in our lifestyle to be a quick route for profits. But it is a less known fact that exercising every day is not a definite answer to the problems caused from prolonged sitting.
There is hope in NEAT
NEAT, short for Non-exercise activity thermogenesis is the term used for the amount of energy we burn when we are not sleeping, eating and exercising. A stroll after lunch counts as a NEAT activity and if you are in an active job, then you will be burning more NEAT calories.
Stick to this Golden Rule to stay fit and shed weight:
• Keep your calorie intake for the day less than the recommended amount. Use an online calculator for help or you can rely on a smartphone app.
• Exercise to increase the amount of calories you burn
Accepting your lifestyle, being shackled to the chair is becoming a shortcut to the grave. Do you really want your age to be defined by long hours of sitting on the chair? Your lifestyle determines your age. Don’t let your chair eat into your health. Take a stand against you biggest foe in office. Stand up against sitting!
