Researchers have found that prolonged sitting can be extremely dangerous for your health. In fact, some believe that sitting for long periods of time is just as bad as smoking.
The health risks of sitting too much mostly affect those with desk jobs. Even if you go to the gym in the morning, the amount of sitting you do at work, followed by sitting in front of the TV at home, can outdo that hour of physical activity.
However, new research shows that sitting for children is just as bad (or possibly worse) as it is for adults.
A recent study, published in Experimental Physiology, found that children all over the world sit for about eight-and-a-half hours every day.
What risks do children face if they sit for long periods of time?
Listen in as Ali McManus, PhD, shares the recent research that shows sitting for long periods of time is just as bad in children as adults, if not worse.
Selected Podcast
Prolonged Sitting: Impact Worse in Kids than Adults
Featuring:
Ali McManus joined the University of British Columbia in the Okanagan as an Associate Professor in September 2013 after working at the University of Hong Kong for 19 years.
She has a Masters in Medical Sciences specialising in Pediatrics and a PhD in Pediatric Exercise Physiology. The focus areas of her research are (i) vascular harm caused by too much sitting and (ii) muscle oxidative metabolism in the growing child.
Her goal is to work harder to afford her great laboratory of young scientists so they can continue producing wonderful work. She is very happy living in the beautiful Okanagan with her family and when not in the laboratory she can usually be found walking the dog or on a horse in the back country.
Ali McManus, PhD
Ali McManus joined the University of British Columbia in the Okanagan as an Associate Professor in September 2013 after working at the University of Hong Kong for 19 years.She has a Masters in Medical Sciences specialising in Pediatrics and a PhD in Pediatric Exercise Physiology. The focus areas of her research are (i) vascular harm caused by too much sitting and (ii) muscle oxidative metabolism in the growing child.
Her goal is to work harder to afford her great laboratory of young scientists so they can continue producing wonderful work. She is very happy living in the beautiful Okanagan with her family and when not in the laboratory she can usually be found walking the dog or on a horse in the back country.