Sitting down too much at work can be a health hazard

Melbourne, Aug 11 (ANI): A survey has found that workers spend 70 percent of their daily lives sitting down, which makes it a health hazard, as it not only makes one fat, but also puts one at risk of diabetes and heart disease.

The Medicare Private funded survey found that 77 percent of the time spent at work involves sitting, and the other 23 percent of the time involves low intensity exercise, like strolling to the printer, the photocopier or the coffee shop.

The survey showed two-thirds of those involved in the study did 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as a brisk walk or other activity that raised a slight sweat.

But when a small device called accelerometer was used to measure how quickly those in the study were actually moving, the researchers found just one-third of the participants actually did the 30 minutes a day of exercise required by national guidelines.

It was seen that moderate physical activity occupied less than 5 per cent of the time on both work and non-work days.

At Blackmores head office on Sydney's northern beaches, lab technicians and production workers regularly perform stretches and exercise, by order of management.

Marcus Blackmore's staffs are encouraged to structure their working day around exercise.

"It increases circulation," the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying. (ANI)