HOW TO FIGHT THE NEGATIVE PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF YOUR DESK JOB
“We’re sitting ourselves to death!”
It’s fair to say that Sven and Linda Wilson are living the dream when it comes to their kids’ education. They have three children, and each of them is studying at a premier, private university — it’s something a Hollywood screenwriter would attach to the narrative of a proud parent. But for Sven and Linda, it’s a reality. Their children, Amanda, Nathaniel, and Edward, graduated in the last five years from Cornell College, Rice University, and Texas Christian University, respectively. That’s a remarkable achievement for both them and their parents. But what’s perhaps more remarkable is how they were able to secure so much financial aid despite Sven’s high annual income. Sven makes well over $150,000 a year as a NASA engineer. He passed his brains on to his kids, but even with his income and their intellect, he worried about paying for their school with rising tuition costs. To help with that, Sven hired us in 2008. We worked our magic, and the overall savings between the three kids was massive. Cornell costs $52,000 a year to attend, but Amanda attended for just $9,000 a year. Rice similarly charges $58,000 annual tuition, but Nathaniel went for less than half the price. Edward spent $12,000-13,000 a year at TCU, while students paying full price spend $58,000. Dr. James Levins of the National Institutes of Health made headlines when he announced, after 15 years of research, that “sitting is the new smoking.” Dr. Levine determined sitting for prolonged hours leads to obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, and can increase the likelihood of developing certain forms of cancer. To many people, the answer was clear: Just stand up! Standing desks have become all the rage as office workers everywhere switch from sitting in one place all day to standing in one place all day. And the benefits have been … almost imperceptible. While you do burn more calories standing than you do sitting, the fact remains you’re still not moving. Keeping your body in the same position for hours is what leads to all of those health risks Dr. Levins warns about, whether you sit or stand. It would be more accurate to say, “Sedentary is the new smoking.” Now, don’t think you can erase the damage from being sedentary at work by hitting the gym when you clock out. Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that, among individuals who spend most of their day in a sedentary position, those who engaged in regular physical activity were only 30 percent less likely to die from sedentary-related health problems than those who didn’t exercise at all.
So, what are we supposed to do? Seventy percent of Americans have jobs that require them to remain confined to a desk. If switching to a career that keeps you up and moving all day isn’t a possibility, how can we cure our sedentary problems? The answer isn’t standing; it’s moving. Human beings are meant to be up and moving around! That’s why staying still all day hurts us so much. A desk job doesn’t have to destroy your health. If you need to send an IM or a brief email, walk over and deliver the message in person instead. Take phone calls while walking around or, better yet, conduct meetings while on a walk outside. Even periodic desk exercises can be beneficial.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you sit or stand. Make sure to move around at least once an hour to avoid serious damage to your health.
3 Kids, Hundreds of Thousands in Savings
All told, over four years, their cumulative college costs amounted to $216,000, which was over $450,000 less than if they had paid full price.
Congratulations to Sven and Linda on their children’s successful college careers. Most of all, congrats on hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of savings!
2 • www.thecollegemoneyguys.com
Published byThe Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
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