Related Posts
Yet another alarm bell has been set off by the medical community warning of America’s rising obesity rates and the corresponding relation to disease. The National Cancer Institute completed a study that has shown a statistically significant relationship between excess weight gain and ovarian cancer. While obesity has previously been shown to have direct links to increased incidence of many diseases including breast cancer, type II diabetes, and heart disease this was the first study that showed the potential link with ovarian cancers as well.
America’s rise in obesity rates and corresponding rise in ill health has been shown to be a direct result of decreasing levels of activity, most blamed upon the sedentary nature of employment. Treadmill desks offer a solution which allows employees to accumulate the necessary daily amounts of physical activity and still perform their normal office duties. The end result? Happier, healthier, leaner and more productive employees with proven reduced risks of cancers related to obesity.
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in female cancer mortality and is the leading killer among gynecological malignancies. The study was performed over a seven year period and had a population of 95,000 US women aged between 50 to 71. Those women rated as obese (having a BMI of 30 or above) had a 26% higher chance of contracting ovarian cancer than women of normal weight. This figure jumped to an alarming 80% for those in the group that were both obese and had never used hormonal therapies for menopause. Obese women without a family history of the disease had a 36% chance of developing ovarian cancer.
Researchers conducting the study speculate that excess weight gain could lead to higher levels of estrogen in women, possibly promoting the growth of ovarian cells which could potentially lead to ovarian cancer.
While the causes of cancer are complex there is no doubt that obesity raises the risk of developing many varieties including ovarian cancer. Preventative measures include regular physician check ups, healthy diets and an emphasis on daily exercise and weight management.
The biggest challenge American’s face however is achieving minimum levels of daily exercise. Treadmill desks believe they have an answer.
These products were developed to allow individuals to walk while they work and take back their health. They attack the two primary reasons American’s do not exercise enough: motivation and time. When your work is attached to a you automatically start walking and working without having to plan or think about it. Better yet, at the end of the day you will have gained more exercise than the average American performs in a two week period and it did not interfere with other time commitments.
The power of treadmill desks is their simplicity. The human body was designed to walk 30-35 miles per day yet the average American walks less than 5% of that amount daily. Treadmill desks are basically waging war on chairs and offering employees a chance to regain and maintain their health without interfering with other daily time commitments. Based on the rising rates of obesity related diseases they merit serious consideration within the workplace.
