Time to stand up

If you want to have a healthier life, seek out brisk walks around the city that refresh

Staff members of Standard Chartered Bank using ergonomic chairs which bank has introduced for each of its staff members, the chairs are part of a bid to overcome ergonomic related health problems at iShow more

We are all guilty of spending too much time sitting down. Our modern life is structured around extended time at a desk, watching television or even driving to and from work. But this simple aspect of contemporary living is killing us slowly.

One of the easiest paths to healthier living is to get up and walk around at regular intervals throughout the day. Indeed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, recently tweeted that those who live longest tend to move every 20 minutes. He also wrote that “people living in a walkable community get more exercise than people with access to a gym”. While we are redesigning our cities, we should ensure that they are truly pedestrian-friendly to give us new paths to achieve this goal.

If travel broadens the mind, then a walk can clear it. A brisk perambulation will go a long way towards offsetting our increasingly sedentary lifestyles and keeping us healthy.