Brought to you by the Irish Heart Foundation.
Spot these on your way to work?
There were some seating areas in Dublin’s city centre that were spotted with red warning tape wrapped around them early yesterday morning.
And yes, it was aimed at attracting attention from those on their commute to work. Although SO many of us sit in an office – working nine to five (or longer) – the entire aim of this bright red tape was to highlight the risk factors associated with sitting. It turns out, the campaign by the Irish Heart Foundation has got plenty of people on social media intrigued and keen to join in on getting up off of those chairs.
Chairs left wrapped in the red hazard tape were popping up all over the city including Smithfield Square, IFSC, Digges Lane, Sandyford Industrial Estate, Baggot Street, Tara Street and Charlemont. The tape itself read ‘CHAIRS CAN KILL.’ It turns out though, there’s nothing exaggerated about the message as sitting for lengthy periods of time can increase our risk of heart disease and stroke, even if we exercise regularly.
Irish people spend on average 7.3 hours a day sitting down every day.
Calculate the amount of time you spend sitting each day at https://t.co/H1QsFjj7VF
#ChairsCanKill https://t.co/1XdwGq5ui0— Irish Heart Foundation (@Irishheart_ie) September 10, 2018
No not at all, in fact you should encourage your colleagues to join in #ChairsCanKill ? https://t.co/jdiCIVnfjA
— June Shannon (@juneshannon) September 11, 2018
While you’re scrolling…STAND UP! Sitting for prolonged periods can have a serious effect on our heart health regardless of whether or not we are exercising! #chairscankill @Irishheart_ie
— Laura (@nursieLT) September 11, 2018
DANGER!! chairs can kill. Escape yours now! Find out more at https://t.co/VwjrlrwsNE #chairscankill pic.twitter.com/br9VxFFtrQ
— Laura (@Lauraquintastic) September 11, 2018
I feel a pang of guilt every time I think about the considerable time I spend sitting each day. I love that @Irishheart_ie are highlighting this issue as it really is detrimental to our health. ?#chairscankill https://t.co/5LBdrJsy8e
— Jane Gleeson (@janeygleeson) September 11, 2018
Clever guerilla campaign for @Irishheart_ie around town this morning #ChairsCanKill pic.twitter.com/dFsTXUHeMq
— Seán Cannon-Earley (@seanearley) September 11, 2018
Even with regular exercise, sitting down for long periods of time dramatically increases your risk of heart disease and stroke by 147%. The Irish Heart Foundation has developed an online calculator however, where we simply enter a few details, and in turn it will give us superb tips and tricks as to how we can make better every day choices for our body by getting up and doing little exercises throughout the day (even if colleagues might raise an eyebrow).
It’s only a matter of time before everyone joins in on the movement.
Head of Health Promotion, Information and Training with the Irish Heart Foundation, Janis Morrissey said;
“As human beings, we are not designed to sit all day. However, in today’s world many of us spend the majority of our days sitting, whether that’s at home watching TV or on our devices, at a desk in work, or in the car.”
Maybe it’s time we started doing jumping jacks in the office after all!
Brought to you by the Irish Heart Foundation.
Check out the Irish heart Foundation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
