Are you sitting down as you’re reading this post? Get up!! You burn a lot more calories standing up, and, as an added bonus, you will less likely get heart disease. Have I convinced you?

Not yet? Read on!

Plus, scroll down for a vocabulary quiz on prepositions!

Spend your day sitting down at work? You could be storing up a world of pain

Millions of us could be heading for trouble because we spend too much time sitting down at work.

A poll of 2,000 office workers found nearly half of women (45%) and almost two fifths of men (37%) spend less than 30 minutes a day standing at work.

And 80% of workers fear they spend too much time at their desk, according to a new survey published by action group Get Britain Standing and the British Heart Foundation.

Experts say that puts them in danger from “a time bomb” of deadly diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and colon cancer.

It also raises the risk of crippling back pain, deep vein thrombosis, brittle bones, depression and
even dementia.

And the problem is not confined to white collar workers working at computers.

Plumbers, electricians and couriers who spend hours every day driving between jobs are also at risk, as are supermarket cashiers and factory workers who spend much of their day sitting down.

In an attempt to turn this situation around, Get Britain Standing and the British Heart Foundation have launched On Your Feet Britain, a campaign that encourages workers to swap sitting for standing – or even wiggling and twerking – at their workstation on Friday.

Read the full story on Mirror

VOCABULARY

head for = move towards something

deep vein thrombosis = a serious medical condition caused by a blood clot forming in a blood vessel (vein)

brittle bones = bones that can break easily

white collar workers = people working in an office

Photo credit: http://www.mirror.co.uk

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