Ooh goody!
There’s a new study that backs up what I’ve known for a long time – Mommyhood is good for your health! OK, the study didn’t exactly research mommyhood at all, but it’s precisely what came to mind when I read it. But the fact that someone paid to do this study at all somewhat proves that common sense isn’t all that common, as they say…(who ever “They” are).
The Atlantic ran an article on a study that was done showing essentially what the title says, “He who sits the most dies the soonest.”
I know what you’re thinking… Oh, there goes the media again telling us to do something simple like “just take the stairs” again… rather than actually work out. (I don’t mean being on the elliptical with a copy of Vogue on the screen either, when I say work out).
Actually, the study shows that getting up and moving around as part of your daily life, not necessarily just exercise time, is what’s needed to reduce the risk. Regular exercisers did fare better than exclusive sitters, but both groups don’t do well when they sit for as long as most of us do while making a living so we can ‘um.. “survive.”
That means to me, that stay-at-home moms should live to a nice ripe age! Have you ever tried to complete one simple task while taking care of children. It’s impossible. You can’t actually sit and accomplish anything for longer than 2 hours (and you’re lucky at that) without an interruption that likely requires you to get up and do something. Housework involves plenty of bending and moving. Getting toddlers from point A to point B is like herding cats! Nevertheless, a few years ago at my yearly physical, my doctor asked what I did for exercise. I looked astonished and said, “I chase toddlers.” He said my cholesterol numbers showed that wasn’t good enough.
What I’m saying is for optimal health, you still have to work out…but the article shows that just because you work out doesn’t mean you can sit on your butt the rest of the day!
Get Fit With Kayla 