Many of us are overly stressed due to our current lifestyle - lacking sleep, skipping meals or not eating properly, and chasing the rat race. With all of these combined, we'll find ourselves as:

- The fattest in South-east Asia region.

- Has the highest obesity rate in South-east Asia.

- Ranked 8th in the world for the highest sugar consumption.

- High cases of diabetes-related kidney failure.

Few of the reasons which may have caused us, Malaysians to fall into these categories are:

- Our weather - the humidity which many of us avoid and preferred to stay indoors, especially in the afternoon.

- Public parks or places to exercise are lacking in safety.

- Gyms in Malaysia are not secured due to the reason cases.

- Unhealthy food and snacks are available readily, 24/7.

- Too laid back and always opt for the easiest way out.

However, there are ways to help us keep the bulge away. How 45 minutes a day can improve your well-being and the best part is you may do it at the leisure of your desk!

For most of us, as soon as we sit, we'll be overwhelmed with work. Apart from skipping meals, we tend to forget to move as well. Eventually, we sit more than 6 hours a day! This is alarming as sitting too long triggers other health related issues. Sitting too long will lead to our body to shut down the metabolic rate. This will lead our circulations to slow down, burning fewer calories and exposed to work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

It's advisable to move around every hour, with simple steps on how 45 minutes a day can improve your well-being. You may perform these simple exercises at your own desk.

As you need to move around every hourly, each exercise takes only 5 minutes to accomplish. By the end of the day, you'll get a total of 40 to 50 minutes workout.

Walk

Get up and make yourself a cup of coffee, tea (or anything) or use the stairs instead of the elevator. Moving or walking around improves your blood circulation which may reduce the risk of getting a peripheral arterial disease. It's a cardiovascular disease of the feet and legs, whereby fatty deposits restrict the blood supply.

Stretches

There are many stretches you may do at your desk. Stretch your neck and arms to relieve the pressure off your shoulders. Stretching helps to improve flexibility, prevent injury and reduce stress.

Squat

Another wonderful workout you may do is squat. Try doing the basic squat with 10 repetitions as you won't be able to reach a total of 5 minutes at the beginning. Slowly work your way from 10 to 50 reps and you'll soon be able to reach the 5 minutes goal.

Tricep Dips

Tricep dips can be performed using your office chair. However, you need a stable chair to avoid injury. Similar with squats, go with 10 repetitions until you are able to work through the 5 minutes mark.

Seated Leg Extension

Seated leg extension is another simple workout which you may do on your chair. Relax and lift up your leg, extend as high as you can. Start with 10 repetitions and increase the reps once you are comfortable.

Seated Knee Raise

Sitting at the front of your chair, lift one leg off the floor and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat with the other leg. This workout targets your lower body, abs and obliques.

Desk Push Ups

Stand away from your desk, feet together, place palms at the edge of your desk, a shoulder's width apart. Make sure you got a good grip and your palms are not slippery as to avoid injury. Lower your chest to your desk and push back up.

Once you have gotten the hold of it, working out for every 5 minutes will improve your overall:

- Heart rate.

- Breathing.

- Body temperature.

- Blood circulation.

- Endorphin level, your feel good hormones.

Our body and mind will switch off automatically after 45 to 50 minutes of sitting and staring at the computer. A 5 minutes office workout will refresh your whole body, relieve stress and boost your energy for better results for a clear mind.

Melissa Chan is the editor for LisAffair.com, an entrepreneur and lifestyles news.