The problems with sitting

[Connemara]

Several studies have found that even those who exercise regularly are not immune to the ill effects of a desk jockey job. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...you-read-this/

Which might explain the following result. Men who normally walk a lot (about 10,000 steps per day, as measured by a pedometer) were asked to cut back (to about 1,350 steps per day) for two weeks, by using elevators instead of stairs, driving to work instead of walking and so on. By the end of the two weeks, all of them had became worse at metabolizing sugars and fats. Their distribution of body fat had also altered — they had become fatter around the middle. Such changes are among the first steps on the road to diabetes. Conversely, a study of people who sit for many hours found that those who took frequent small breaks — standing up to stretch or walk down the corridor — had smaller waists and better profiles for sugar and fat metabolism than those who did their sitting in long, uninterrupted chunks.

So what’s wrong with sitting? The answer seems to have two parts. The first is that sitting is one of the most passive things you can do. You burn more energy by chewing gum or fidgeting than you do sitting still in a chair. Compared to sitting, standing in one place is hard work. To stand, you have to tense your leg muscles, and engage the muscles of your back and shoulders; while standing, you often shift from leg to leg. All of this burns energy. For many people, weight gain is a matter of slow creep — two pounds this year, three pounds next year. You can gain this much if, each day, you eat just 30 calories more than you burn. Thirty calories is hardly anything — it’s a couple of mouthfuls of banana, or a few potato chips. Thus, a little more time on your feet today and tomorrow can easily make the difference between remaining lean and getting fat.

 

[JesseJB]

I sit here at my desk job and weep for my fate. =(

 

[Thomas]

maybe it's time to get that stability ball after all.

 

[thekunk07]

sit on a swiss ball. and don't cross your legs. it lead to me being diagnosed with peroneal neuropathy.

 

[erdawe]

Been involved in some research on this topic, quite iintriguingto see the results. Many different types of solutions are being tested. However, while the idea is there, logistical obstacles still about to the organization and cost of such a setup. The cubicle environment is such a poor design and holds many flaws that negatively impact the workers.

The next best thing is if you're forcing yourself to sit, get a chair that allows the changing many various positions as you go along. Not one "perfect" setting, chairs should be dynamic... Also, a lot of society seems to look down on extraneous movement as odd, or strange. The person "can't control themselves" ect.

Point being so many "new" expectations created by the modern world paradoxically creates a new set of problems that are not inherently better than before. They are just different.

 

[why]

Sitting requires less energy than standing and walking.

REALLY!!?!?

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by why

Sitting requires less energy than standing and walking.

REALLY!!?!?

 

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by why

Sitting requires less energy than standing and walking. REALLY!!?!?
I knew you would chime in with a typically smarmy remark. That's not the point of the article marsupial.

 

[ysc]

http://www.treadmilldesk.co.uk/

 

[Jekyll]

I'm sitting in a La-Z-Boy (peasant). It's also destroying my lower back.

 

[why]

Originally Posted by Connemara

I knew you would chime in with a typically smarmy remark. That's not the point of the article marsupial.

So part of the problem with sitting a lot is that you don’t use as much energy as those who spend more time on their feet.

The other data is from uncited studies with profound conclusions summarized as:

Which might explain the following result. Men who normally walk a lot (about 10,000 steps per day, as measured by a pedometer) were asked to cut back (to about 1,350 steps per day) for two weeks, by using elevators instead of stairs, driving to work instead of walking and so on. By the end of the two weeks, all of them had became worse at metabolizing sugars and fats. Their distribution of body fat had also altered — they had become fatter around the middle.

So wait, men who used less energy during the day stored more energy? And they stored it around their midsections?! Who has ever heard of android obesity in men? I thought they stored it in their ears and toes.

As an example, consider lipoprotein lipase. This is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats; it’s produced by many tissues, including muscles. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems, including heart disease. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being flexed (for example, when the animal is standing up and ambling about). The implication is that when you sit, a crucial part of your metabolism slows down.

No, it does not 'play a central role in how the body processes fats'. It doesn't even 'process fats', it breaks down lipoproteins like cholesterols into 'fats' for further processes. Secondly, it's not produced 'by the muscles' as far as I know -- it's produced in adipoctyes (fat cells) and the endothelium of capillaries in the muscle (in other words, by the vascular system and not the skeletal muscle). Thirdly, humans are not mice and their skeletal muscle systems in particular have large differences in both form and function.

I really dislike articles like this that transmogrify something as simple as sitting into some cause of diabetes and heart disease -- as if this specific alignment of joints nurtures a thrombosis every minute an ass is touching a chair. I don't know how quadrupelgics live more than a few months!

 

[underwearer]

do the ancient technique we used to call the Okinawa squat

you'd see old dudes sitting like this for hours with ease

 

[why]

 

[furo]

Originally Posted by why

I wonder if they're reading a book on how to properly take a crap

As far as this study goes, all one has to do is simply get up and walk around a bit every hour or so. That's what I do. I just make a lap around the hallway.

 

[APK]

Be like me and drink lots of water. You won't have any other choice but to get up every 30 minutes or so.