The hazards of sitting too much have now been established by research and these studies are starting to make headlines. Surprisingly, sitting too much even takes a toll on people who exercise on a regular basis.

Fewer than 20% of jobs involve physical exertion, which means that most employees spend eight hours a day or longer in a chair. Thus, the danger is difficult to avoid—and is exacerbated by following a deskbound day with a sedentary evening of watching television, playing video games or sitting around a dinner table talking.

We sit a lot: at work, in the car, at meetings and on the couch. This translates into a lot more sitting than moving. Sustained sitting contributes to the risk of metabolic syndrome, heart attack and stroke, among other health related diseases.

So how do you prevent the damaging effects of sitting too much? Here are some great tips to get you up and moving:

• Stand! Make it a habit to stand up during your work day. For example, every time the phone rings, stand up to answer it. Research shows that just by standing periodically, you can significantly better your health. Plus you will feel more alert, focused and energized.
• Stretch breaks. Get together with other colleagues and have regular stretch breaks. Or higher a fitness consultant to get everyone on their feet.
• Regular walks. Make it part of your work schedule to get up every hour and walk for 5 minutes. In a 8-hour day, this translates to 40 minutes and a great calorie burn.
• Workplace fitness classes. Higher a fitness company and offer after-hour fitness classes. It's a convenient and effective way to get in some exercise, helps keep employees fit, and is an affordable way to keep employer health costs more manageable.

Tiffiny Twardowsky is President of Energy in Motion LLC. For more information on bringing fitness classes to your workplace, contact Tiffiny at [email protected] or 973-983-9554.