Sitting is the New Smoking? What Nonsense…
By
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Posted November 10, 2017
Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
It’s become the new rallying cry for so-called health “experts” everywhere.
Sitting is the new smoking.
They’ll tell you that there’s all this “research” now proving that sitting will destroy your health and shave years off your life.
And while I’m a big fan of exercise and moving around, there’s something about this research you’re not being told.
It’s junk science… and you’ll never believe the mega-corporation that’s REALLY behind it.
Maybe you saw all the recent headlines about a study claiming that sitting can be dangerous to your health.
I normally love studies like this… but this one is bull.
Why?
Well, the first reason is the company that sponsored the research: The Coca-Cola Corporation.
Strange, right? Why would Big Soda sponsor a study like this?
Because nutritional research is finally catching on that the sugar in soda is deadly poison.
So companies like Coca-Cola are trying to change the conversation away from what we eat to our daily activities.
And it works — almost every news outlet wrote about the so-called “Sitting Study.”
I could probably overlook the fact that the study was sponsored by Coca-Cola if it weren’t for another problem: the study is junk science.
Why? Because the study didn’t actually measure sitting.
The study used accelerometers and watched people’s activity levels for a week. Sounds like that would measure sitting, but it doesn’t.
What they ended up measuring is inactivity: which could be sitting, laying down, standing still, or even light movement.
To make matters worse, some people admitted to not putting the accelerometers on every day. Others only wore them for a few days.
There were so many problems with the study that the study authors wrote:
[The multiple problems with this study] render these finding inconclusive. Thus, caution is warranted when interpreting these results.
I wish the news outlets would read enough of the study to discover those words (they were near the end of the paper).
Don’t get me wrong — sitting and not exercising is bad for you.
An excellent study, called The London Bus Driver Study, found that sitting (as a driver) was much worse than moving around (as a ticket-taker) for long-term health.
There are plenty of other good studies that show exercise to have many health benefits including a stronger brain, better heart, and better blood sugar control.
But don’t let Coca-Cola convince you that sitting in the only cause of illness. If you have to sit a lot for work or for a volunteer activity, just make sure you get up and move every half an hour or so.
You’ll be just fine… trust me.
Health and Happiness,
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Ed. Note: Please send your feedback: feedback@livingwelldaily.com – and click here to like us on Facebook.
Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.
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