Winston Churchill was right: experts are saying sedentary behavior is an epidemic, the resultant health effects potentially devastating. Lack of muscular activity is associated with higher incidence of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as a heightened risk of death. And this is regardless of one's level of structured physical exercise, according to the authors of an article published this week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The team from Stockholm, Sweden say that sedentary behavior has become synonymous with lack of exercise, but that this is inaccurate and misleading. Rather, sedentary behavior should be defined as whole body muscular inactivity. As an illustration, they cite an Australian study linking each additional hour of television a woman watches with a 26 percent increase in metabolic syndrome risk, regardless of the amount of moderate to vigorous exercise she engages in. Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of overweight and obesity-linked risk factors which increase the chances of coronary artery disease. Such factors include a large waistline, lower level of HDL "good" cholesterol, and higher levels of triglycerides (another type of fat in the blood).

And individuals who already engage in little to no exercise will suffer the ill effects of a sedentary lifestyle even more, they wrote. (Though, they did indicate that additional research is needed.) While guidelines currently do provide recommendations for minimum amounts of physical activity to shoot for, there are no current guidelines relative to time spent sitting or sedentary.

"In the future, the focus in clinical practice and guidelines should not only be to promote and prescribe exercise, but also to encourage people to maintain their intermittent levels of daily activities [that involve movement]," the authors wrote. "Climbing the stairs, rather than using elevators and escalators, five minutes of break during sedentary work, or walking to the store rather than taking the car will be as important as exercise."

Walking like a one man army

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Change is not often easy. I can say with conviction that it never is for me. But nourishing the ever-present human capacity to evolve is where we may capture the best shot at a life lived optimally. Taking an honest assessment of one's path and habits, identifying opportunities for positive change...this is where the proverbial healing can really begin.

And the American Heart Association says it doesn't always have to be complicated. In fact, assessing your level of cardiovascular health may take only a few seconds, using the organization's new seven-point checklist. The checklist is part of a program intended to reduce cardiovascular disease, largely through prevention.

These "super seven" are:

1. Never smoking or quitting more than one year ago.
2. Achieving and upholding a body mass index of less than 25.
3. Engaging in regular physical exercise (minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity each week).
4. Ensuring a minimum of four key healthy diet components (Examples: taking in fewer calories, consuming more fruits and vegetables, eating fatty fish more often).
5. Getting and keeping total cholesterol levels lower than 200.
6. Maintaining blood pressure levels below 120/80.
7. Having a fasting blood glucose (sugar) level below 100.

Never too late

One other study -published today in the British Medical Journal- captured my attention, relative to taking action for better health: Individuals already diagnosed with early stage lung cancer who stop smoking can still potentially double their chances at five-year survival compared with those who continue smoking.

It is known that smoking greatly increases the risk of lung cancer. It is not definitively known whether quitting after lung cancer has been diagnosed offers much -or any- benefit. The researchers in this study demonstrated a five year survival rate of 63-70 percent among individuals who quit, versus 29-33 percent among continuing smokers.

Conclusion? It is never too late to make positive changes; sometimes, even the most simple can create or lead to long-lasting and profound differences. Moving more, consuming less: there are a million ways to get there. Finding what works for you is the key.