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Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

Researcher warns against ‘chairman’s curse’ during talk

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Staying healthy in a world of nine-hour workdays and confined cubicles is as easy as fixing your hair or chewing gum — as long as you break free from a stationary, desk-bound lifestyle, said one researcher.

Dr. James Levine, an endocrinology researcher and professor at a Mayo Clinic in Arizona who focuses on obesity studies, shared his thoughts on sedentariness and the future of obesity in his lecture, “Is Your Chair Trying to Kill You?” on Thursday.

Levine presented this and other findings on sedentary living as part of the 30th annual D.K. Stanley Lecture Series in front of a full audience of students and faculty in the Florida Gym.

He said although exercising has declined over the past 200 years, average food intake has remained steady.

“For 75 percent of Americans, exercise burns zero calories because they don’t do it,” Levine said.

Levine said the gym is great for people who can fit in time to work out at the end of the day, but not for regular, cubicle-based jobs. He suggested setting up walking meetings, which he said tend to be shorter and can burn an extra 150 calories.

He explained a study that showed working individuals who remained active during the day, even with short bursts of movement, were able to keep weight off.

Levine calls a sedentary lifestyle the chairman’s curse, and it is linked to several issues such as diabetes, cancer, heart attacks and spinal injuries. It is also linked to an individual’s creativity, dynamic personality, mood and happiness.

“The more you sit, the unhappier you are,” he said. “You’re not going to want to sit in a cubicle all day and die.”

Jenny Prasad, an 18-year-old UF anthropology freshman, said she was inspired by the lecture because she has always had a goal of healthy living and good nutrition. She said she was happy to hear alternative ways to stay healthy as a busy college student. She also said she wants a standing desk so she can be more active while studying.

“You can be active even if you’re not in the gym and doing your daily routine,” she said. “That’s most important.”

[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 3/27/2015 under the headline “Researcher warns against ‘chairman’s curse’ during talk”]

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