Sitting Shuts Down Body's Fat Burning Abilities

Do you sit at a desk most of the day? Turns out sitting around could be shutting down your body's fat burning abilities.

According to a report in the American Institute of Physics, sitting shuts down the body’s circulation of a fat-absorbing enzyme called lipase. This causes fat to re-circulate in the blood stream to either be stored as body fat or clog arteries and cause diseases.

Dr. Marc Hamilton, a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri in Columbia, explains they’re not talking about a small amount of fat, either.

Plasma samples taken from the same person after eating the same meal were cloudy when they ate while sitting down, but clear when they ate while standing up.

Sitting also reduces HDL (good cholesterol) levels by as much as 22 percent.

"Chair time is an insidious hazard because people haven't been told it's a hazard," Hamilton warned. "The existing data, by numerous studies, are starting to show that the rates of heart disease and diabetes and obesity are doubled or sometimes even tripled in people who sit a lot."

Standing, on the other hand, engages muscles and promotes the distribution of lipase, which prompts the body to process fat and cholesterol, independent of the amount of time spent exercising.

Standing also uses blood glucose and may discourage the development of diabetes, and improves HDL levels.

Why does this matter to you? Because standing is good for your waistline! If possible, perform tasks while standing instead of sitting. And if you have a desk job, take frequent breaks to stand and walk around. The average person can burn an extra 60 calories an hour just by standing.\