Get Off Your Chair And On Your Feet, Australia!

Posted on by Jacquie Tran

On Your Feet Australia - Reduce Sedentary Behaviour with the Baker IDIMore than ever, we work and play while seated.  Think of how much prolonged sitting can take place in the average day for an adult Australian:

  • At breakfast
  • In a car or on public transport on the way to work
  • At our office desks
  • With our colleagues for lunch
  • On our commute home
  • In front of the TV
  • While eating dinner

But all of this sitting comes at a cost: sedentary behaviour increases your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic cardiometabolic conditions.  In fact, research from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute has found that people who sit for 4 or more hours per day have a 46% higher risk of death from all causes, and an 80% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease, compared to people who sit for less than 2 hours per day.

So what can YOU do to decrease the health risks of excessive sedentary behaviour?

The equation is simple: get On Your Feet

On Your Feet Australia is an initiative by the Baker IDI aimed at reducing sedentary behaviour through simple and regular physical activity throughout your work day.  Tomorrow (Wednesday 19th February), you can get involved by:

  1. Registering at OnYourFeet.org.au as an individual or as an organisation
  2. Donating and raising funds to support the ongoing research at Baker IDI
  3. Wearing your sneakers to work and getting on your feet at every opportunity.

Click here to download the On Your Feet Australia poster, and feel free to share it amongst your colleagues and friends!

Activities to reduce sedentary behaviour

Individuals

  • Stand and take a break from your computer every 30 minutes
  • Stand during phone calls
  • Eat your lunch away from your desk
  • Move your bin away from your desk
  • Use the stairs
  • Walk to your colleague’s desk instead of phoning or emailing them
  • Drink more water
  • Stand to greet a visitor
  • Stand at the back of the room during presentations
  • Have standing or walking meetings
  • Take breaks in sitting time in long meetings

Organisations

  • Consider products such as height adjustable desks, telephone headsets and standing mats for staff.
  • Schedule 30 minute reminders for employees to break up their sitting
  • Create a daily tally to log the number of times employees use the stairs
  • Host all internal meetings standing up
  • A standing lunch
  • A lunch time walk