Video games, cell phones, cars, and televisions are just a few examples of technological advances contributing to the sitting epidemic plaguing the modern world. The average American spends 10-13 hours per day sitting, contributing to the unsettling statistic that 3.2 million deaths a year are related to physical inactivity.7 A Harvard study found that 100 million Americans live with chronic pain related to sitting, with treatments and productivity loss costing around $635 billion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in the United States, 7.6 million people list back pain as their reason for filing disability claims.17 In addition, the CDC claims "worker illness and injury costs United States employers $225.8 billion annually." Apollo Hospitals found that sitting for six hours a day is equal to smoking more than a pack of cigarettes.
The sitting disease is the state of physical, mental, or emotional pain that results from being sedentary. Symptoms include neck and back pain, depression, obesity, and heart disease, and it may even lead to cancer. Fortunately, much can be done to reduce, eliminate, and reverse the plethora of health problems that the modern sitting epidemic has created in today's society.
This book is dedicated to providing readers with a better understanding of the effects of sitting on the body, and more importantly, providing specific strategies to combat, prevent, and reverse the myriad of problems associated with sitting. Additionally, readers will attain a better understanding of the many ways to improve their overall health and well-being.