We spend an average of nearly eight hours a day sitting and another four hours watching television, playing computer games and surfing the internet. Our modern lifestyles allow the almost total avoidance of physical activity as technology has made prolonged sitting common place during work, domestic, and recreational activities.

An estimated 75% of work in industrialized countries is performed while sitting and chair time is now considered an insidious health hazard and the worst part is that people have not been told it's a hazard.

Indeed, chair time is hazardous for most people on two counts: 1) when seated with improper posture the spine is bent out of its normal shape, which strains the discs, muscles and joints which can cause back pain and spinal degeneration; and 2) when seated for too long the body's systems are idle including circulation, respiration, and digestion often leading too and complicating other health problems.

Total sedentary time, which is defined as the absence of whole body movement, has been associated with serious chronic disease and illness. This has major worldwide health implications as the numbers of people sitting too much are growing rapidly in a modern progression of human inactivity.

Scientists researching some of the most common and deadly diseases in our society have discovered that prolonged sitting has profoundly negative effects on fat and cholesterol metabolism, glucose, blood pressure changes, and increased belly fat. Fat in the bloodstream is normally broken down by the fat-absorbing enzyme lipase and then absorbed into the muscles as fuel reserves.

The circulation of lipase is shut down by the inactivity of prolonged sitting, leaving fat in the blood stream to re-circulate and become stored as body fat or to clog arteries. It is no wonder that numerous studies have shown that people who sit a lot have two and three times the rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome and have a higher death rate. In fact, the impact of inactivity caused by extended periods of sitting is as bad for your health as smoking or high cholesterol levels.

While proper structured exercise activity is important for improved strength, stamina, circulation, and bone density, regular bouts of non-exercise activity are required throughout the day to break up sustained sedentary periods regardless of a person's exercise activity habits.

If you work in a seated position and have no control over that it would be a wise thing to do to get up and find a private place to do a few body weight squats and some wall push ups every hour or so. Just a couple of minutes of movement would get the muscles working and push blood, nutrients and oxygen around the body helping you to stay healthy.

Even just standing up engages muscles and prompts the body to process and breakdown fat and cholesterol in the blood stream, uses blood glucose and may discourage the development of diabetes. The bonus of standing compared to sitting also burns more calories.

Don't fall into the habit of sitting, stand and move around if you can so your metabolism and health doesn't deteriorate. We are not designed to be inactive and it is up to each of us to make sure our body has the tools it needs to remain fit and healthy.