Sitting – The new smoking?

With our ever increasing sedentary behaviour, and as more jobs require us to sit at desks, sitting is fast becoming an increased risk to our health and well-being. A useful graphic that illustrates the hazards of sitting can be found on the Washington Post here.

Sitting has been likened to the health risks associated with smoking, among other chronic health risks, in recent studies (Yeager, S., 2013) and is part of a group of behaviours leading to the rise in obesity and decline in overall health. What may be more alarming to people, is the growing body of research that is showing that sitting for extended periods of time is bad for your health regardless of how much you exercise (Baddeley, B., Sornalingam, S., & Cooper, M., 2016). Also, the amount you exercise may not matter at all and have no positive effects on your health for living longer, with the amount of time spent seated being the really important variable. “It turns out that sitting too much can largely negate many of the health benefits of moderate exercise” (Mayo Clinic Health Letter, 2014).

“People who watched the most television had a 68 percent greater risk of dying during the study than those who watched the least” (Mayo Clinic Health Letter, 2014)

Do you spend time sitting as you drive to work? Do you sit down once you get to work? Continue to sit while you have lunch? Then proceed to drive home and continue to sit while you eat dinner and watch t.v.? Well, you may take comfort in knowing that you are not alone, but let me assure you, you should not be reclining in your chair to get comfortable as you read this. The key message is to move more and to do it frequently, even in little bursts of 2-3 or 5 minutes, so that you can break up the time spent seated. This is also a good way to improve blood flow and help to reset your focus to continue being productive. Every little bit of activity helps, but what could be more important, as outlined by the studies referenced below, is actually working towards reducing your time spent seated. Let us all work towards moving a bit more each and every day.

Some final parting words: The chair is the silent killer!

 

Articles:

• Yeager, S. (2013), Is sitting the new smoking? Runners World, 48, (8), pp 60. Obtained from SPORTDiscus with Full Text.
• Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research publication, (1997). Is sitting the new smoking? New science, old habit. Mayo Clinic Health Letter (2014), 32, (10), pp 4-5. Obtained from MEDLINE Complete Database.
• Baddeley, B., Sornalingam, S., & Cooper, M. (2016). Out of hours sitting is the new smoking: where do we stand? British Journal of General Practice, pp 258. doi: 10.3399/bjgp16X685009