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Ditch the desk. It’s time to get moving

9th Jul 2015
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CABA provides lifelong support for past and present ICAEW members.

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According to research from Loughborough University, the average person spends 65% of their waking hours sitting down. This equates to roughly nine to ten hours of the day for adults. Unsurprisingly, the sedentary culture of the modern day office is one of the major factors contributing to lack of movement, accounting for between 60% and 70% of total sitting time on weekdays.

But spending prolonged amounts of time sitting down can negatively impact your health. For example, according to research by the NHS, one of the lifestyle factors that increases your chance of developing type 2 diabetes is lack of exercise. It is also important to mention that becoming more physically active can positively improve your health and lower your risk of developing other illnesses such as coronary heart disease (CHD).

Following a survey on over 2,000 office workers by the British Heart Foundation, it was discovered that that three-quarters (78%) felt that they spent too much time sitting down while at work; and a further 62% stated that they feared it could be negatively impacting their health. But how can we introduce more activity into the working day?

As a way to combat the sedentary nature of office work for their employees, Virgin Media is trialling introducing sit-stand desks at its contact centre in Sheffield. The trial, which is being coordinated in partnership with the University of Chester, will see two groups of contact centre agents using sit-stand desks for a minimum of two hours each day. During this trial, the 22 employees will be monitored in order to assess the impact that using these desks is having on their health.

However, introducing more activity into your working day doesn’t need to be so extreme. You could get more exercise by simply taking the stairs instead of using the lift, or by performing some simple stretching exercises at the comfort of your desk. In the marketing office at CABA we have introduced a simple activity where we all get up from our desks and walk around the office, performing stretches and lunges as we go.

Although this might not sound like much, every little bit counts. In fact, did you know that you could burn up to 30,000 extra calories a year by simply standing for two to three hours a day at work, that the equates to half a stone of fat (8lbs).

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