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One of the most interesting research findings that came out this last year brought one of the basic facts about modern society into question. It didn’t have anything to do with eating too much Mickey D’s or watching too much reality TV (well, not directly). You can watch as much reality TV as you please—just get your butt off the couch. Whatever your particular vice, just do it standing up, and you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor.
The fatwa against sitting came out of research done by the American Cancer Society on over 120,000 adults over a 13 year span. The study followed the adults and monitored their daily habits, as well as the diseases they developed over those years. Even when adjusting for smoking, body mass index, and other factors, the amount of time spent sitting per day was found to have a direct and independent association with the risk of death. The risk was particularly high for ladies: those who sat for more than 6 hours a day were nearly 40% more likely to have died during the study than those who were on their bums for less than 3 hours. For men, the risk was 18% higher.
Even after adjusting for the amount of exercise people did everyday, the same correlation came up between sitting and higher likelihood of death. Those that didn’t get the recommended amount of exercise and were sitting for more than 6 hours a day, well, let’s just say that you don’t want to be one of these people. These women and men were 94% and 48% more likely to kick the bucket due to cardiovascular problems or cancer, than people who did a little jogging and were only sitting for less than 3 hours a day.
5 Ways to Sit Less During the Day
But what if your job requires you to sit for extended periods of time? Here are a few simple ways to reduce the time you spend in your seat that won’t make you quit your job to become a marathon runner, or perhaps, a professional stander.
- Get a Standing Desk: It seems like a strange idea at first—a desk that you stand at? If you can’t imagine standing for most of your workday, well, I couldn’t either. When I first got my standing desk, it did take some adjusting. At first, I got tired and uncomfortable after using it for only an hour or two, but after a week my stamina improved. Now, I definitely feel better—my back and shoulders are less tense, and now I never get that I’m-turning-into-jello-in-my-cushy-computer-chair melting feeling. Check this one out to get an idea of what they’re like.
- Stand During Your Commute: If you can’t revamp your workstation, you can easily shave 30 minutes to an hour off your daily sitting time just by standing up on the bus, subway, or your preferred method of public transit. Just please, don’t forget to hold onto the railing.
- Forget the Email—Take a Walk: Instead of emailing colleagues in your office, take a short break to stand up, walk to their desk, and have a chat with them. Breaking up hours of sitting isn’t only good for your long term health, but it’ll keep your blood flowing to help keep you alert throughout the day.
- Veg Out, Standing Up: If you’re like most people, getting home from work and sinking into the couch to watch a little TV or play some video games is a reliable way to unwind and relax. New tech, like the Wii and the Xbox 360, have games that are meant to be played standing up–and are actually a lot of fun. Whether you prefer a little Wii tennis or a some dancing via the Xbox Kinect, here’s one option for getting out of your seat that you won’t have to force yourself to do.
- Keep Your Eyes Open For Opportunities: The key here is to look for little ways to get on your feet during the day, that can really add up over time. Small daily habits, like parking far away in the parking lot, taking the stairs, and standing while talking on the phone are easy ways to make a change.
This post was originally hosted on An Apple A Day, a health and nutrition blog.
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Sign in nowI think us flatlanders from Florida may be more susceptible! Or at least that’s what I told myself after my first trip to Denver – only 5000 feet – and acted like an angry drunk after going right to work setting up a trade show booth after getting off the plane.
Thanks for the tips!
I agree with you completely that we need to reexamine food and our relationship with food as Americans. Food is more than “fuel.” Eating should be an experience, a way in which to feed our minds, our emotions and our bodies. You make an interesting point when you say that good food habits should be taught in schools. As a public school teacher at a low income school, I constantly reinforce the importance of healthy and mindful eating. Low-income groups are most at risk for chronic diseases as a result of poor nutrition. In my classroom, I become a snack-Nazi, running around between the desks in the fourth grade and confiscating anything crunchy that comes in a bag (besides baby carrots, of course). I make the kids check the labels for high-fructose, Yellow 5, and words they can’t pronounce. What I find, however, is that families continue to send food to school that is anything but food. To be honest, sometimes I simply pretend like I don’t see the kids cramming hot Cheetos in their mouths under their desks before I can get to them. While I can lecture and explain and reinforce, what needs to happen in our country is access to good food for poor people.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Excellent post – and of course WHO’s ‘emergency committee’ is claiming that the pandemic threat is “not yet over!” because that’s the message that Big Pharma is paying for.
The WHO guidelines were pepared in collaboration with a group called the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI). But what this committee did not disclose is that ESWI is funded entirely by the drug company Roche and other influenza drug and flu vaccine manufacturers.
The H1N1 scare was very good for business last year. J.P. Morgan reported that the pharmaceutical companies did very nicely during this health scare, profiting to the tune of $7 billion from the sale of vaccines alone.
While WHO may have not disclosed the entire committee’s identities, the British Medical Journal investigation revealed that two of the identified “experts” (René Snacken and Daniel Lavanchy) were not only on Big Pharma payrolls, but had actually participated in Roche marketing events.
Why would WHO even consider touching these guys with a 10-foot pole – never mind accepting credible scientific counsel from them?
More at “Did Big Pharma Fund The Swine Flu Panic?” at: THE ETHICAL NAG: MARKETING ETHICS FOR THE EASILY SWAYED – http://www.ethicalnag.org/2010/06/21/h1n1-flu-panic/
Good information here – and yet it should come as no surprise given what we already know about the devastating psychological effects of any disaster on human beings. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been widely studied and linked with virtually every catastrophic life event on us.
PTSD is a debilitating emotional illness that can develop when you experience or even witness a dangerous, terrifying, or possibly life-threatening stressful event – an event that is outside the range of what’s considered to be a normal human experience. About 7-8% of the general population will develop PTSD, but for military veterans, rape victims and heart attack survivors, this number can go up to an astonishing 30%.
As your article reminds us, PTSD can also strike both survivors and relief workers at natural or terrorist disasters, as well as anyone who has either experienced or witnessed this kind of trauma.
New York City’s World Trade Center Health Registry reported that 20% of New Yorkers who lived below Canal Street (close to the World Trade Center) were estimated to suffer from PTSD following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, compared to 11% of all New York City residents. About 5% of trained relief workers were diagnosed with PTSD as a result of just listening to stories from survivors of the attacks.
Hardest hit among 9/11 relief workers were those who were pulled off their regular jobs to perform tasks they were not prepared for – like the city’s sanitation workers who were assigned to help with search and rescue, or relief workers who spent more than 90 days at Ground Zero. Most relief workers showed no further symptoms six months later, but Twin Tower survivors themselves reported suffering PTSD symptoms up to five years after the attacks.
A Harvard Medical School study of survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans found ‘delayed onset’ PTSD symptoms that actually increased over the first two years following. The worst-affected Katrina survivors were both close to the epicentre of the tragedy as well as abandoned on their own without help for far too long – both extremely dangerous PTSD risk factors.
“Abandoned on their own without help for far too long” sounds like an apt description of those impacted by the horrific events in the Gulf day after day, week after week while the oil continued to spew.
More on PTSD after a catastrophic life event at: “Not Just For Soldiers Anymore: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder After A Heart Attack” — http://www.myheartsisters.org/2009/08/25/ptsd/
Dengue is a Killer. My close friend’s mother pass away due to Dengue Fever.
nice article, keep the posts coming
Good show. Interesting info too about anaphylaxis.
I just signed up to your blogs rss feed. Will you post more on this subject?
Very good post. Anticipating the next one.
One can’t help but wonder if disasters like this are the cause of cancer and other illnesses. After all, we all become affected by the contaminated water & dust eventually.
Thanks for a wonderful and informative post. As a vegetarian traveler, I know how difficult it can be to find meals in some countries! I had no idea about Trinidad & Tobago – I will have to add that to my travel list.
I didn’t realize people of mixed heritage had a more difficult time finding bone marrow donors.
I can’t wait to try finding basic recipes for some of these dishes and “veganizing” them! Great post.
I’ve heard that vegetarianism is unknown in Japan. If you say you are a vegetarian there, for example, they will just give you more vegetables with your meals (along with meat).
Haha, love that the clip has Spanish subtitles.
Sometimes I’m not sure what to think when pain is involved in anything. Medical experts say to expect pain in certain situations, but for the most part, I thought pain was indicator that something is wrong in your body.
Does sitting on a bouncy ball help at all?