The New Definition of Being Fit

UPDATE: Being “fit” is no longer about how much time you spend working out, but how much time you spend sitting as well. A study by the American Cancer Society compared people who sat less than three hours per day with those that sat more than six hours per day. The results were quite dramatic.

If you’re physically active and sit more than 6 hours per day, you are:

• 18% more likely to die if you’re a man.
• 37% more likely to die if you’re a woman.

If you’re NOT physically active and sit more than 6 hours per day, you are:

• 48% more likely to die if you’re a man.
• 94% more likely to die if you’re a woman.

Over 123,000 individuals (53,440 men and 69,776 women) were studied and none had a history of cancer, heart attack, stroke, or emphysema or other lung disease at the start of the study.  Here are the results after 14 years:

• 11,307 men died
• 7,923 women died

Of these deaths, cardiovascular disease was the cause of death more often than cancer.
So, sit less and move more. Aim for getting in at least 10,000 steps a day. Monitoring your steps is a way to know if you’re doing too much sitting and helps to keep you accountable.

Long periods of sitting despite being physically active has been shown to affect biomarkers of obesity, cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses which include:

• Triglycerides
• High density lipoprotein (HDL – “good” cholesterol)
• Cholesterol
• Fasting blood glucose
• Resting blood glucose
• Leptin (a hormone that tells you when you’ve had enough to eat)

Fit Tip: A pedometer tracks your steps and is a great tool AND motivator to be more active. When you know the number of steps you take each day, you’ll find yourself looking for ways to increase those numbers! Happy stepping…