Could Your Chair Be Making You Pack on Pounds?

Are you sitting down? Well, you might want to stand up for this news. A collection of new studies just published in the  American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that too much sedentary behavior may increase your risk of a number of health problems, including obesity and heart disease. And get this: it's not an issue of not getting enough exercise. Even if you're working out regularly, sitting on your butt is bad for your health.

By Zoe Ruderman

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And an earlier study found that there's a direct correlation with the amount of time a person spends sitting and the circumference of their waist. Ugh.

Unfortunately, scientists don't know the exact number of hours that leads to trouble so the only advice they give is, "Sit less". Uh, kinda tricky when you are driving to work or have an office job. But here's some good news: people who take frequent short standing breaks are less likely to experience the negative effects of being in a chair all damn day.