Stand, don't sit, it's good for your health

If you're sitting down right now, do yourself a favor, stand up. Sitting for too long can lead to health problems.

Lisa Christian has always tried to live healthy, but life often gets in the way.

Like so many of us, as soon as she gets up in the morning, Lisa finds herself sitting right back down.

She says, "I sit all day at the office, I commute to and from work like a lot of people and with a 2 year old i have even less time to try to get formal workouts."

So, Lisa has found a more informal way to workout by doing it at work. In the corner of her office, Lisa has a treadmill desk. It allows her to keep working while she's walking.

Doctors say she's bucking an unhealthy trend.

Dr. Anup Kanodia, with Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center says, "We're sitting more and more and more. The average person now went from standing 90%, to standing 35% of their day."

Dr. Kanodia says the simple act of sitting is leading to serious complications. He says, "Excessive sitting increases your risk of heart disease 30%. We have found that insulin works 40% less. And that means that more and more fat gets put into the body."

Studies show those who are obese sit an average of two and a half hours a day more than those who aren't and excessive sitting may be to blame for a rise in lower back pain.

The good news is, walking just 5 minutes each hour at work burns 10 pounds a year. And even if walking isn't possible, standing is preferable.

Dr. Kanodia says, "We burn about 100 calories an hour. Now, if we would just go to standing, we would burn 150 calories, so 50% higher."

Doctors say sitting too long can even increase your cholesterol. They've found an enzyme in your body that converts bad cholesterol into good, drops by 95-percent if you sit too long.