Prolonged Sitting May Be Harmful to Your Health

It seems that every day there is a new message from medical experts announcing some great new cure or danger to our health. Well, here’s another: are you sitting down? You might want to stand up.

Stand Up for Your Health

Scientists are saying that sitting for too long leads to increased health risks, even if you also exercise regularly. And it doesn’t matter where the sitting occurs; it could be it in at the office, at school, in the car or in front of a computer or TV.

Preliminary research studies suggest that people who spend much of their day seated are most likely to be overweight or obese, have a heart attack, or even die.

Elin Ekblom-Bak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences recommends that authorities reconsider how they define “physical activity” to highlight the dangers of sitting for prolonged periods of time.  She says that after four hours of sitting, the body starts to send harmful signals, and that genes regulating the amount of glucose and fat in the body start to shut down.

Researchers in a 2009 study that tracked more than 17,000 Canadians for over a decade found people who sat more had a higher death risk, regardless of whether or not they exercised. While they don’t know exactly how much sitting is dangerous, the study suggests that the more you can get up and interrupt sedentary behavior, the better.

Standing Desks of the Rise

A growing number of workplaces (including the mega-corporations of Google Inc. and Facebook Inc.) are ditching sit-down desks and cubicle chairs, and trading up for standing workstations — desks that sit high off the floor so a worker can either stand at it or sit on a high stool to use it. After integrating ergonomically designed standing desks, employees find they feel more comfortable and energized. Some people have found that standing desks helps them avoid the 3 o’clock slump, reduce aches and pains, and keep energy levels high all day.

Forget about whistling while you work; Facebook Inc. is also trying out a treadmill station—where a worker can walk or run on a treadmill while clickity-clacking away at the keyboard.

The final message? The scientists behind this research advise people to continue regular exercise due to its documented health benefits. But when you’re in the office, try to interrupt sitting as often as possible. Don’t just send your colleague an e-mail. Walk over and talk to him or her. Standing up.