Losing weight is a dilemma that a lot of people are currently experiencing. According to a study done by Reuters, approximately 2.1 billion people are obese as of May, 2014. Imagine; that was four (4) years ago before our population reached a staggering 7.6 billion. Think of how much that category of lifestyles increased now. I know what you’re thinking and yes it’s not just about the physique, it concerns the health as well.
In a previous post, obesity is highlighted to be one of the culprits of having hypertension that would eventually lead to different cardiovascular dangers.
With our technology now, it’s safe to say that losing weight is as easy as A, B, and C. However, that is not the case. A lot of people who are overweight are still struggling to cut down pounds. Maybe they fail to think that losing weight is not just about exercising or working out; it’s also impacted by lifestyle, diet, and mindset of course.
Recent studies have shown that standing up for at least six (6) hours a day can help you get some numbers down on that scale. Furthermore, substituting sitting down for standing up can eventually lead to 5.5 lost pounds each year.
Yes, even without frequent visits to the gym or healthy food, standing up for that amount of time per day can help you lose weight. If we are to look at it in a more long-term perspective, more hours of standing, more weight losing, right?
The study was led by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology; in their study, they’ve proven through thermogenesis calculations and physics that standing up for a minute burns an approximate amount of 0.15 calories (kcals).
Calories burned are dependent on the weight of the individual. For instance, a 150-pound person standing up loses about 114 calories per hour. Multiplied that by eight, that’s a staggering 912 calories.
An average person sits down or lies down at least seven hours per day. And yes that is outside the regular sleeping hours of 7-8 hours per night. Imagine substituting that activity to just standing down; can you even think of the benefits?
This is the reason why most offices now prefer standing desks and work tables than the regular office desk you are familiar with. If you’ve been living under a rock, standing desks or tables are a piece of furniture that is used commercially or even personally. To give you an idea, it generally looks like this:
Now that you know how it looks like, what do you think are the benefits of this standing desk?
Other than the fact that it consumes less space without the chairs and bulky pedestals, it can also be beneficial in terms of health.
But what other benefits do standing up give us?
Longevity
Just like any other part of our body, they will work better and function more efficient if they’re regularly used. New studies have found that longer times of sitting down increased risks of tons of diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension, even early d***h.
“Even if you do a half an hour or an hour or of exercise every day doesn’t give us the reassurance that sitting for the other 23 hours is o.k. In fact, it’s not,” said Dr. David Alter of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, one of the authors of the study.
Less risk for obesity
Just like we’ve mentioned, standing up for more than six to eight hours per day can drastically impact weight loss in your regime. Since it burns more calories than sitting down, it’s preferably better to stand up for at least three (3) to four (4) hours while at work than sit down and slack the whole time. Besides, most people sit down without their backs straight which causes the posture and bones to be weaker.
Reduced risk for illnesses and especially d***h
Essentially speaking, sitting down won’t k**l you at all. However, sitting down while disregarding activities covering your physique can. If you’re doing both then you better start doing something different.
Like what was mentioned above, sitting down has been associated to a lot of wrongness, even d***h. Since this is the case, doing the opposite should be better.
Although some people might not feel comfortable about standing for hours straight, it’s not a skill learned overnight. Since it burns calories every minute and every hour, it can be a mini-substitute to exercising. Although it won’t have as much impact as working out does, it would still supplement the idea of you losing weight.
Have you ever tried standing in your workplace and feeling good about it? Or even in your homes? Do you know someone who has symptoms of diseases that you know would benefit from this knowledge? If you’re the latter; what are you waiting for? Spread the word!
