Following the last post about things that you are unwittingly doing that could be killing you, this post is about the health risks of sitting down on the job--that's right, sitting down on the job.
If you look at traditional societies, humans travelled long distances on foot, lifted and carried large amounts of weight, and used their bodies for almost everything. Now, our bodies have almost become secondary to our brains, and our brains are growing almost obsolete by the ever growing computing power of machines. With the human body becoming secondary, and the sedentariness of our 9-8 lives, we are actually shortening our longevity. In a recent study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, titled Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in Older Women, a linkage was found between the amount of time sitting and the increased risk of mortality, including heart disease, stroke, etc.
In an article in Harvard Health Publications, Dr. JoAnn Manson, one of the above study's authors and chief of preventative medicine at Harvard-affiliated Bringham and Women's Hospital, states that
“Even if you are doing the recommended amount of moderate to vigorous exercise, you will still have a higher risk of mortality if you’re spending too many hours sitting. . . . Each of these behaviors is important and has an independent effect on cardiovascular disease and mortality.”
That is, even if you spend time on the evenings and week-ends in some form of physical activity, your collective time spent sedentary at work will not be made up for; meaning that your hours spent sitting on the job over-rides any gains you think you are making by working out and exercising.
You might be asking, "Why is sitting at my desk at work such a problem?" According to Dr. I-Min Lee, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, “Sedentary behavior is associated with an increased risk of the development of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease."
In a study from the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, entitled Reducing Occupational Sitting Time and Improving Worker Health: The Take-a-Stand Project, 2011, it was concluded that "prolonged sitting time is a health risk." This study was done among employees who had sedentary jobs. Here's more of what the study concluded:
"Study results have demonstrated associations of prolonged sitting time with premature mortality (1–3); chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer (4–7); metabolic syndrome (5,6); and obesity (5,7). In contrast, breaks in prolonged sitting time have been correlated with beneficial metabolic profiles among adults, suggesting that frequent breaks in sedentary activity may explain lower health risk related to waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), triglyceride levels, and 2-hour plasma glucose levels (8)."
Additionally, the Take-a-Stand Project reduced time spent sitting by 224% (66 minutes per day), reduced upper back and neck pain by 54%, and improved mood states. However, and this is an absolutely striking part of the study, the removal of the device largely negated all observed improvements within 2 weeks.
The Benefits of a Standing Desk on Your Feet Australia Campaign
The traditional North American ways of working are making us sick and shortening our longevity. This research has been around now for a number of years, and yet our offices are largely equipped with sit-down workspaces, and distributors of products and services are interested in keeping people seated so that they are more likely to consume. Television manufacturers want you seated, movie and television shows want you seated, employers want you seated (based on the long-held and false assumption that when people are sitting down, they're working), computer and internet software companies want you seated, so that you are more likely to engage in all the stuff peddled to the world that has only the appearance of importance.
If you are sedentary in your workplace, and you have read this post, it's time to change this vital aspect of your life. In the next post, I will present the myriad options available for work environments that will help you. The good news is that the heightened risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and metabolic syndrome that result from a sedentary work style can be reversed.
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