In this day and age, most of us fall victim to having to jobs that make us sit for most of the day.  The Annals of Internal Medicine recently reported that the amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and death; regardless of regular exercise.  Their research does suggest that those participating in daily exercise programs are better off, but that 30 plus minutes a day is not enough to completely offset the other 23 hours of the day.

So, what can you do?  Stand as much as possible while you are at work, try talking to your employer about the possibility of getting a stand up desk.    If that’s not an option, make sure you get up and move around for at least 5 minutes for 30 minutes of sitting.  Need something from that person down the hall?  Rather than email them, take the opportunity to walk down and speak to them in person.  Use your lunch break as an opportunity to walk around and stand up.  Most importantly, be consistent with your exercise program.  On weekends be as active as possible and go for a long walk or hike if it is nice out.  If the weather isn’t great then find an indoor activity that you can be active with.

Little efforts, each and every day, will make a huge difference in the long run.