Sitting Kills, Moving Heals

Vernikos, a medical research scientist formerly associated with NASA's Life Sciences Division, describes how she discovered that weightlessness caused astronauts' bodies to degenerate in levels usually seen in elderly people and connects this to the effects of sedentary lifestyles, showing how general readers can improve their health through everyday activities that use gravity. She argues that frequent, low intensity stimuli throughout the day, every day, are better that exercising at the gym. She details research on gravity deprivation syndrome, the effects of staying in bed, and non-exercise activity, then outlines an action plan involving activities like stretching, standing up and sitting down, stairs, balance and posture, dancing, playing a musical instrument or sport, and how to convert these activities into lifelong habits. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)