That's Fit

Those who travel long distances on airplanes risk developing fatal blood clots in their legs. The clots, termed Deep-Vein Thrombosis, can be fatal if they break off and travel to the heart or lungs. It's not only travelers who risk this condition, though. A new study out of New Zealand reports that those who work so hard they rarely take a break are at risk too.

This study of 62 patients hospitalized for dangerous blood clots revealed that 21 percent had been on long flights while 34 percent had spent long hours at their desks the previous month. "Long hours" means the workers had been at their desks for more than eight hours per day, with a three-hour period void of any standing. It also includes 12-hour days with one hour void of movement.

Good news. Blood clots can be prevented, by the very thing that keeps our bodies healthy in so many other ways: Stretching. All it takes is getting up and giving your legs a solid stretch every 30 to 60 minutes.

Are you sitting down right now? Well, get up. And give those legs a good stretch.