Sitting Limits The Amount of Calories You Burn

Your everyday non-exercise activities, like standing, walking and even fidgeting, still burn calories.

This energy expenditure is known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), the lack of which is an important risk factor for weight gain.

Sedentary behavior, like sitting or lying down, involves very little energy expenditure. It severely limits the calories you burn through NEAT.

To put this in perspective, studies report that agricultural workers can burn up to 1,000 more calories per day than people working desk jobs.

This is because farm workers spend most of their time walking and standing, rather than sitting in a chair.

BOTTOM LINE: Sitting or lying down uses far less energy than standing or moving. This is why office workers may burn up to 1,000 fewer calories a day than agricultural workers.

The Longer You Sit, the Fatter You Get

When it comes to weight management, the fewer calories you burn, the more likely you are to gain weight.

This is why sedentary behavior is so closely linked to obesity.

In fact, research shows that obese individuals sit for an average of 2 hours longer each day than lean people do.

BOTTOM LINE: People who sit for long periods of time are more likely to be overweight or obese.