“Sitting is the new smoking” is a phrase that’s been credited to Dr. James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative.
Wow -- sitting around is THAT bad for you? Yes, it sure can be. Lack of physical activity can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis, cancer, gastrointestinal issues…pick most any disease and you can likely find some way to trace a risk factor back to lack of exercise. According to the National Institutes of Health, physical inactivity is a primary cause of most chronic diseases. Linking lack of exercise to disease is sort of like playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon - when you dig deep enough, you’ll see that it’s all connected.
But, it’s also important to understand that we’re not only talking about the stereotypical couch potato, eating cheese balls and playing video games all day. Many people work in professions whereby they spend the majority of the day in a car and at a desk . These people are just as vulnerable to the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle as those glued to their X-Box for 10 hours a day.
So, why does exercise play suc ...
