A NASA scientist reveals the science of why sitting is deadly —
and how to use gravity to achieve lifelong health — in new book
Americans have struggled for decades to exercise more and get
healthy, but we’re still fatter, sicker and more tired than ever
before. Why isn’t exercise enough? What’s missing? Gravity is
the missing element in Americans’ exercise plans, says Dr. Joan
Vernikos, former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division, in
her just-released book “Sitting Kills, Moving Heals: How Simple
Everyday Movement Will Prevent Pain, Illness, and Early Death —
and Exercise Alone Won’t” (Quill Driver Books, December 2011).
Dr. Vernikos’ NASA research on the health effects of
weightlessness proved that the human body can’t maintain good
health without continuous gravity-challenging movement. Modern
Americans, who work at desks, drive long commutes and watch
hours of TV, simply don’t move enough against the force of
gravity to stay healthy. The good news in “Sitting Kills, Moving
Heals” is that anyone, at a