Image courtesy of Manuel Cernuda

I stumbled across an interesting article over at MSNBC.com this morning while I was doing my daily scan through the numerous feeds I follow. Apparently some scientists over in Australia did a bit of research and came to the startling conclusion that people who spent more than five hours a week using a computer were two and a half times more likely to be obese than people who did not use computers at all.

I understand that next they are going to try and sort out once and for all whether or not that water stuff is actually wet.

In all seriousness, though, this article is yet another piece of information we have confirming what is a rather unfortunate truth for those of us who spend most of our day working and playing in front of a glowing box. Namely, if you’re a heavy computer user you’re considerably more likely to be fat. (In all fairness the same pretty much holds true for any sedentary activity, but there aren’t a lot of people I know who get paid to watch television all day.) We could get into the whole chicken and egg argument about whether computer users are predisposed towards obesity, but the whys and wherefores really do not change the facts of the situation.

The question is – What do we do about it?

The knowledge that you are at a greater risk for obesity will only help you if you actually do something about it. The article has a few tips such as setting a timer or cleaning while you watch television, but I think the best thing you can take away from it is the reinforcement of the fact that in order to maintain a healthy weight you should be getting at least 150 minutes of exercise in every week (the frequently mentioned government standard of 30 minutes of exercise five days a week). If you actually want to lose weight, that number increases to 250 minutes (50 minutes of exercise five days a week). While that may seem like a daunting number, I’d be willing to bet that those of us who fall into the “high” computer use category (more than 5 hours a day) could easily find 50 minutes to trim out of our day if we put our minds to it.

As always, remember that the important thing here is being active – not killing yourself with exercise. If you’re leading a sedentary lifestyle you don’t have to start running marathons to improve your overall health. Take it slow and increase your level of activity slowly over time and you’ll start seeing the results in very short order. The key is just to start moving. Worry about the fancy stuff later.