82. Sit less, live longer

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

If you are sitting down¹ listening to this Health Report², stand up³. Move your legs⁴. Touch your toes⁵, if you can. Do anything but sit⁶. If you "cut down on the time"⁷ you spend sitting⁸, you might live longer⁹. New research shows that sitting less than three hours a day might extend your life by two years.

The human body is designed to¹⁰ move. But modern lifestyles¹¹ and office jobs rarely¹² give us the chance to move around.   Just the opposite¹³, says Peter Katzmarzyk. He is a scientist at the University of Louisiana in the southern United States. He says that sitting is ubiquitous¹⁴ in our lives, meaning¹⁵ it is something we do all the time¹⁶, everywhere.  But, he adds¹⁷, that does not make sitting good for us.

“Sitting is ubiquitous in our lives today. You know, we sit while¹⁸ we’re eating, we sit in the car, we sit while we watch TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work. So on average¹⁹, Americans report that they sit between²⁰ four and a half to five hours a day.” Exercise is important. But so is not sitting.

Mr. Katzmarzyk says you may exercise often²¹.  But, he says even²² that does not mean you can sit for the rest of your waking hours. “We can’t throw away²³ physical activity.  It’s extremely²⁴ important. We have 60 years of research showing us that. But sedentary behavior²⁵ is also important -- even if²⁶ you exercise for 30 minutes a day. What goes on in the other 23-and-a-half hours a day is also very important.”           

Mr. Katzmarzyk and his co-workers²⁷, or colleagues, are part of a new generation of researchers studying how sitting all day²⁸ affects length²⁹ of life. Such³⁰ studies are rare. “This is a relatively new area of study - studies that have assessed³¹ the relationship between³² sitting and mortality or television viewing and mortality are very rare. There’s only been³³ a few of them³⁴, actually³⁵ five or six now, in the last four or five years.”

Mr. Karzmarzyk and his colleagues used the few rare studies available³⁶ to them. They found³⁷ that cutting television time to less than³⁸ two hours a day could add one-point four years to life. Change is already coming³⁹ to some offices, especially in the design of desks⁴⁰. A “standing desk” lets people stand⁴¹ while they work. 

Another new design is called the “treadmill⁴² desk.” A treadmill is an exercise machine that lets you walk in one place. Even some U.S. schools are beginning to experiment with desks that are part bicycle to keep⁴³ children moving.

 “That’s one of the strategies that many companies are using now. They may have got five standing desks for their employees⁴⁴ or a treadmill desk. I’ve heard of⁴⁵ other companies where they may not buy one for everybody .. but they’ll have a bank of these desks where people can go for an hour a day and answer their emails⁴⁶ or talk on the phone.”

Mr. Katzmarzyk says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives⁴⁷.  “As a university professor, you know, it is a very sedentary occupation. We’re chained to⁴⁸ a desk in terms of writing papers and doing research. We really try to limit the amount of time⁴⁹ we spend doing that.”

Suggestions for sitting less

If you work in office job or have a sedentary job, Mr. Katzmarzyk and his team suggest⁵⁰ a few simple changes: get up⁵¹ from your desk as often as you can⁵²

take walks at lunch time⁵³ , instead of⁵⁴ emailing colleagues, walk to their offices and talk directly . All these activities may help you live longer.

Research on the good effects of sitting less is published⁵⁵ in the online journal, British Medical Journal Open. And that’s the Health Report, from VOA Learning English.  I’m Anna Matteo.

 Vocabulary

1. sitting down = estar sentado
2. Health Report = relatorio de saude
3. stand up = levante-se
4. legs = pernas
5. toes = dedões do pé
6. Do anything but sit = faça qualquer coisa menos sentar-se
7. "cut down on the time" = reduzir tempo
8. spend sitting = passa sentado
9. might live longer = pode viver mais tempo
10. designed to = projetado para
11. lifestyles = estilos de vida
12. rarely = raramente
13. Just the opposite = simplesmente o oposto
14. ubiquitous = onipresente
15. meaning = significando
16. all the time = o tempo todo
17. adds = acrescenta
18. while = enquanto
19. on average = em média
20. between = entre
21. often = frequentemente
22. even = até mesmo
23. throw away = jogar fora
24. extremely = extremamente
25. sedentary behavior = comportamento sedentário
26. even if = mesmo se
27. co-workers = colegas de trabalho
28. all day = o dia todo
29. length = extensão
30. Such = tais
31. have assessed = tem avaliado
32. relationship between = relação entre
33. There’s only been = tem apenas havido
34. a few of them = poucos deles
35. actually = na verdade
36. available = disponível
37. found = descobriu
38. less than = menos de
39. Change is already coming = mudança já está chegando
40. desks = mesas de trabalho
41. lets people stand  = permite as pessoas ficarem de pé
42. treadmill = esteira
43. keep = manter
44. employees = funcionários
45. I’ve heard of = ouvi falar de
46. answer their emails = responder seus emails
47. in their own lives = em suas próprias vidas
48. chained to = acorrentados a
49. amount of time = quantia de tempo
50. suggest = sugerem
51. get up = levante-se
52. as often as you can = com a maior frequencia que puder
53. take walks at lunch time = faça caminhadas na hora do almoço
54. instead of = ao invés de
55. published = publicado