North & South

“SITTING DISEASE” IS REAL - BUT TREATABLE

How Not To Die author Dr Michael Greger is back, with a deeply researched book on the Western world’s struggle to stay slim and fit.

How Not To Diet (Macmillan) is a treasure trove of science-based data and dietary research, translated into accessible, do-able advice. The American physician and nutrition expert breaks down a variety of approaches to weight loss, including how to structure a low-sugar, low-fat diet packed with anti-inflammatory foods. He then goes beyond food to explore the many other weight-loss accelerators available to us.

One of these chapters focuses on what’s been dubbed the “sitting disease” – the health risks associated with excessive sitting, at our work desks and in front of our computers, phones and TVs. In the following extract, Greger finds out what protects some people from the fat-gaining effects of over-eating and a sedentary lifestyle – and how everyone can benefit from an activity called NEAT… people gain [weight] more than others? If you experimentally overfeed a group of people the same amount over the same time period, you might assume there would be variation, but the actual range of variability is truly mind-boggling. In a famous study out of the Mayo Clinic, subjects ate 1000 extra calories every day

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