Get Up!
Why Your Chair is Killing You and What You Can Do About It
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
That the average adult spends 50 to 70 percent of their day sitting is no surprise to anyone who works in an office environment. But few realize the health consequences they are suffering as a result of modernity's increasingly sedentary lifestyle, or the effects it has had on society at large. In Get Up! , health expert James A. Levine's original scientific research shows that today's chair-based world, where we no longer use our bodies as they evolved to be used, is having negative consequences on our health, and is a leading cause of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Over the decades, humans have moved from a primarily active lifestyle to one that is largely sedentary, and this change has reshaped every facet of our lives—from social interaction to classroom design. Levine shows how to throw off the shackles of inertia and reverse these negative trends through simple changes in our daily lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Humans have only sat for about 200 years, since we urbanized and industrialized," writes Levine, codirector of the Mayo Clinic/Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative, in this treatise about why readers should get moving to improve their health; "It's obvious that as a species we are not designed for chairdom." Noting that the average American sits for 13 hours each day, Levine, the inventor of the "treadmill desk," shows how a life spent sitting can lead to any number of health problems. Technological advances such as the assembly line and desktop computers have led to more sedentary work, resulting in expanding waistlines and health risks. The key, he says, is NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis): the calories we burn doing mundane tasks. Basically, we need to move more. Levine says one of the easiest and most effective things we can do is to move right after a meal, offsetting the dramatic spike that occurs with insulin levels; the resulting blood sugar that can't get metabolized turns to fat. Other tactics include wearable technologies to help users monitor their activity levels, move-friendly workplaces, and, most importantly, simply making an effort to be more active.
Customer Reviews
Epidemic
I have been reading about the dangers of sitting for a while now, but this book dives into all the research and why it is so bad.
Was a good read often went on tangents describing people and places but it usually adds to the point he makes.
Looking forward to getting my standing desk tomorrow and ending a long term of sitting at work.