沙发瘫了两周，结果…丨Living like 'couch potato' deteriorates your health

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Sitting at a desk all day, driving to work and lazing on the sofa at weekends can trigger a decline towards ill health in just two weeks, a study found.

研究发现：假如人们成天坐在电脑桌前，或是选择在沙发上度过一整个周末，并且去工作时还总是开车，那么他们的健康水平在仅仅两周内就会发生下降。

Health begins to deteriorate within a fortnight of living a "couch potato" lifestyle, according to University of Liverpool researchers.

英国利物浦的一所大学调查显示：如果你保持这种“沙发土豆”的生活方式，那你的健康情况在两周内就会开始恶化。

They warned that Britons' increasingly inactive lives could damage their health in the long term, potentially leading to serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and strokes.

研究者就英国人如今懒散的生活方式提出警告：如果大家继续以这样的方式生活，那么二型糖尿病、心脏病和中风也就离他们不远了。

But the good news is the ill-effects can easily be reversed with simple steps like taking the stairs instead of the lift, getting off the bus a stop early and going to the supermarket instead of shopping online.

但值得庆幸的是，由这些生活方式所导致的不良影响可以通过简单地改变生活细节来消除！比如，我们可以少用电梯多走楼梯，早点起床乘公交车上班而不是开车，还可以逛实体店来代替网购。

Lead researcher Dr Daniel Cuthbertson warned a sedentary lifestyle quickly begins to "sow the seeds for future disease".

首席研究员丹尼尔·克波松教授提醒大家：这种久坐的生活方式会增加患病的风险，为我们的健康埋下隐患。

He said: "Through various advances, our society has become a lot more sedentary.
他说：“现代社会先进的科学技术使人们的生活变得更宅了。”

"Our grandparents did washing manually, they did manual labour, people were physically active. Now many of us are based at desks tapping away – we don't even go out to do our shopping.
“生活在我们爷爷奶奶那一辈的人有按时做家务和劳作的习惯，人们在生理上保持活跃的状态。但现代人的大部分时间都花在电脑上，甚至连购物都通过网络。”

"Sedentary behaviour has a number of adverse health effects that over an extended period of time could be harmful."
“久坐不动的习惯对健康有很不好的影响，而这些坏影响往往还会持续较长一段时间。”

For the study, researchers followed 45 people with an average age of 36 who did not regularly do any active exercise like jogging or going to the gym but all walked at least 10,000 steps a day as part of their daily lives.

在这项研究中，研究者跟踪调查了45名平均年龄36岁的被试，这些人平时都没有慢跑和健身的习惯，但是他们每天至少会走10000步。

They were asked to become inactive for two weeks. This involved getting public transport or driving to work, taking lifts or escalators instead of stairs, cutting their steps down to around 1,500 a day and spending the weekend at home, mainly watching TV or playing computer games.

研究者要求这群人保持两周懒散的生活，包括搭乘公共交通或开车去上班，用电梯代替走楼梯，并将每天的步行数减少到1500步左右，周末要待在家里看电视或玩电脑游戏。

Researchers checked participants' activity levels using a tracker on their arms. All were also asked to stick to their normal diets and keep a food diary to show they had not changed what they ate.

研究者用实验人手臂上佩戴的追踪器来记录他们的生理活跃度。所有被试者都保持与平时一样的饮食习惯，他们还要将每日所吃的事物记录下来以确保饮食并没有发生太大变化。

After two weeks, tests showed participants had increases in their fat levels and waist sizes, and showed signs of muscle loss and lower cardio-respiratory fitness.

实验开始两周以后，研究者发现被试的脂肪水平和腰围都增加了，还有迹象表明他们的肌肉比例变低，心肺功能也有所下降。

Their bodies were also less able to respond to the hormone insulin — a symptom which can be a precursor to developing diabetes.

他们的身体开始变得对胰岛素不敏感，这可能是患上糖尿病的征兆。

After participants had resumed their normal activity levels for 14 days, the negative effects were reversed.

但是在被试恢复他们正常的生活方式后，上述症状都在14天内消失了。

Even in two weeks, the transition from being a busy bee to a couch potato provoked subtle changes which over months or years would predispose people to certain diseases.

由此可见，即使是在两个星期这么短的时间里，从忙碌的生活方式转换到“沙发土豆”的生活方式也能够带来一定的不良影响，更何况是长期这样生活？到时，疾病的纠缠必定无法摆脱。

The results also suggested being physically active could be even more important for people who had an immediate relative with type 2 diabetes.

这项研究结果还说明了生理活跃度对于那些拥有患二型糖尿病直系亲属的人群来说更为重要。

Official NHS guidance recommends adults exercise for 30 minutes, five days a week but many people fail to meet this target. Figures from Sport England suggest one in four people fail to do even 30 minutes of activity a week.

英国国家医疗服务指南建议成年人每周坚持锻炼5天，每天30分钟。但是少有人能达到这个标准。来自英格兰体育局的一份数据显示平均4个人里有一个甚至不能做到一周运动30分钟。

下面是彩蛋时间~

Five steps to stay active

保持活跃的5个步骤

❶ Take the stairs instead of the lift or escalator wherever possible.

尽可能用走楼梯代替乘坐电梯。

❷ Walk to work, get off the bus a stop early or park away from the office so you have to walk in.

走路上班，或者在离公司较远的地方下公交来强迫自己步行去办公室。

❸ Move the printer or water cooler away from your desk so you have to get up regularly during the working day.

将打印机和水冷器搬离你的办公区，这样你就得起来走动才能完成这些事。

❹ Do your weekly shop at the supermarket instead of shopping online.

每周都去实体店和超市购物，而不是网购。

❺ Don't spend the whole weekend on the sofa — mix up relaxing with activities like cleaning the house, shopping or going for a walk.

不要将整个周末都浪费在沙发上，可以起来做做家务，出去买些东西或者散散步。

编辑：张曦，林雨亭（实习生）

Editors: Zhang Xi, Lin Yuting (Intern)

Source: Daily Mail