READING, Pa. — Sitting for long periods has been called the ‘new smoking’ in terms of potential health risks. But what is a person who works in an office to do? In this lecture titled “How to NOT Die from Sitting All Day,” Dr. Keith Diaz, assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, will discuss this controversial topic at Penn State Berks from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, in Room 5 of the Luerssen Building. This presentation is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
In this talk, Diaz will discuss the laboratory- and observational-based research he has conducted on the role of prolonged sedentary behavior in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. His research has had a specific focus on optimizing feasible, sustainable and cost-effective guidelines for reducing prolonged sitting.
Diaz, director of the Exercise Testing Laboratory at the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health and a certified exercise physiologist, has conducted laboratory-based studies testing the validity and reliability of wireless physical activity monitors. He is also interested in the objective measurement of physical activity and sedentary behavior, via accelerometry.
Diaz is currently the principal investigator of a prospective cohort study examining objectively measured sedentary behavior as a risk factor for recurrent cardiovascular outcomes in coronary heart disease patients. He is also principal investigator of a laboratory-based, crossover trial examining the optimal frequency and duration of sedentary breaks for improving cardiometabolic health.
His work has been featured by the New York Times, CNN, CBS News, and The Guardian, among many others.
The Science Division colloquia are of broad and general interest, accessible to a general audience. For more information, contact the Penn State Berks Science Colloquium Coordinator Alexey Prokudin, assistant professor of physics, at 610-396-6160 or via email at prokudin@psu.edu.