6 . Nowadays, are you sitting more and more? Take a moment to think about your sitting habits. You’re probably sitting while reading this. 1 Besides, many people still lie on the sofa swiping their phones instead of doing exercise after work. That’s undoubtedly a lot of sitting. The fact is that the amount of time spent sitting has increased over time. 2
People know sitting too much is unsuitable, and most of us naturally feel a little guilty after a long-time TV watching. But what problems gradually exist when we seat ourselves for nearly eight hours per day? A study on nearly 8000 adults suggests that there’s a direct relationship between the time spent sitting and our risk of early death from any cause. 3
“Sit less, move more” is what the Heart Foundation encourages us to do. 4 It is like telling people to just “exercise” without telling them how. Exercise guidelines are always more practical. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults do exercise for two hours and 30 minutes every week, plus muscle strengthening exercise two or more days a week. We need similar guidelines for sitting.
5 One of them is from Diaz’s research team. “It would probably be like this: for every 30 continuous minutes of siting, stand up and move or walk for five minutes at a quick pace,” Diaz, the lead researcher, said, adding that the study has put us a step closer to the satisfying guidelines. But more researches are needed to confirm their approaches.
| A．Now it’s time to get up and move around. |
| B．It is quite usual for you to remain seated in a business meeting. |
| C．As the total sitting time increases, so does the danger of early death. |
| D．But the function of this rule is just too simple and abstract to benefit us a lot. |
| E．The experts suggest that more exercise should be done to reduce sitting time. |
| F．It is reported that many people have spent more than 6 hours sitting or lying. |
| G．Various specific and detailed guidelines have been made to inspire people to reduce sitting time. |
