Canadian Living recently asked this question and explored the health effects of a sedentary lifestyle with HALO’s Director, Dr. Mark Tremblay.
From the article:
”In the past, most people didn’t sit at work. A hundred years ago they may have had agricultural-based lifestyles, were tradespeople or did tasks that involved standing and moving,” says Tremblay.
What has changed? The arrival of technology.
”We drive when we would have walked or biked. We sit in front of a screen when we would have shovelled, nailed or carried. All of our discretionary time is in front of a computer or television screen,” he says.
In the last 50 to 75 years, our lifestyles have become physically stagnant. Can you remember the last time you walked to work, got up from the couch to change a TV channel or out of the car to open your garage door?
Dr. Tremblay also offered some tips on how to reduce sedentary behaviour:
When your phone rings, stand up. Have walking meetings. Get rid of your automatic garage door opener. The more variety that you can introduce, the better,” says Tremblay. ”Don’t stand too long; don’t sit for too long. Everything in moderation. Sitting, standing and walking in various combinations for various lengths of time keep your skeleton, muscles and organs healthy.”
Click here to read the article in full.
