As the number of scientific studies pointing out the health risks from sitting for long periods, including early death, are published at a fast and furious pace, it’s more imperative than ever that we redefine how we conceive of our sedentary lives.

The science is redefining social and work norms including office design, meeting platforms and restaurant layouts.

New data this week now firmly associates sitting and heart disease, and we hope you’re standing up when you read this. The new data was presented in San Diego at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting. Heart CT scans and physical activity records of more than 2,000 adults living in Dallas were analyzed, and the researchers found that each hour of sitting per day was associated with a 14 percent increase in coronary artery calcification. Coronary calcification is a sign of damaged heart arteries and can increase the risk of a heart attack.

What was more shocking was the amount of heart artery damage from calcium was not associated with exercise or other risk factors. The researchers didn’t just depend on questionnaires about sitting time, but used accelerometers to actually track daily movement.

Other health conditions linked to time in the chair include:

Diabetes mellitus
High blood pressure
Obesity
Cancer
Dementia

Sitting has been found to result in changes in metabolism in as little as 30 minutes, including:

Higher levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Lower levels of “good” HDL cholesterol
Higher blood sugar levels and reduced insulin sensitivity
Higher blood pressure
Lower mental alertness and positivity
Higher measures of inflammation

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Article Courtesy: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/