Get Up! Why Your Chair is Killing You and What You Can Do About it Synopsis
That the average adult spends 50 to 70 percent of their day sitting is no surprise to anyone who works in an office environment. But few realize the health consequences they are suffering as a result of modernity's increasingly sedentary lifestyle, or the effects it has had on society at large. In Get Up!, health expert James A. Levine's original scientific research shows that today's chair-based world, where we no longer use our bodies as they evolved to be used, is having negative consequences on our health, and is a leading cause of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Over the decades, humans have moved from a primarily active lifestyle to one that is largely sedentary, and this change has reshaped every facet of our lives - from social interaction to classroom design. Levine shows how to throw off the shackles of inertia and reverse these negative trends through simple changes in our daily lives.
We are learning that the percentage of time you spend sitting is a significant influence on health: the lower the better. In Get Up!Dr. Levine explains the science accounting for this effect and offers practical advice for changing our habits. I recommend it. -- Andrew Weil, MD
Author
About James A. Levine
James A. Levine is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic. In collaboration with the United Nations, James has focused his work on the plight of women and children in low-income countries. For his scientific work, Dr. Levine has regularly appeared on CNN, BBC, CBC and the Discovery Channel, and has been repeatedly featured in the NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, TIME, WALL STREET JOURNAL, US NEWS, THE TIMES and many other major US and international papers.
