Slashdot Mirror
Regular Exercise Not Enough To Make Up For Sitting All Day
An anonymous reader writes: Toronto researchers have found the amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of disease and death, regardless of regular exercise. The paper, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine (abstract), found that prolonged sedentary behavior was associated with a 15 to 20 per cent higher risk of death from any cause; a 15 to 20 per cent higher risk of heart disease, death from heart disease, cancer, death from cancer; and as much as a 90 per cent increased risk of developing diabetes, said Alter. And that was after adjusting for the effects of regular exercise. ... Engaging in 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous daily exercise does not mean it's OK to then "sit on your rear" for the rest of the day.
So there is no reason to regularly exercise any more!
Sitting for eight or more hours a day can be deadly.
That fact has been hammered home in study after study showing the negative health effects -- including heart disease, poor circulation and joint pain -- associated with being parked on your behind for most of the day. The only sure way to prevent those problems, researchers have said, is to sit far less.
But there is growing evidence that there are ways to reverse the damage without necessarily committing to being on your feet for eight or more hours a day.
A new study by researchers at Indiana University published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggests that the impaired blood flow in leg arteries can actually be reversed by breaking up your sitting regimen with five-minute walking breaks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/09/08/take-a-seat-you-may-be-able-to-reverse-the-damage-to-your-health/
" a 15 to 20 per cent higher risk of death from any cause"
I kind of thought the risk of death from any cause was pretty much 100%.
Considering how dangerous that desk job is...
If you expend less energy it needs to match down consumption too. Americans are so fat because they are used to eating more. You would never see a restaurant like Bucca Di Peppo in Europe. As an American just saying.
A sandwich is or small salad with no sugary soda is what people who are skinny and in Europe eat for lunch. No fries supersized, coffee with sugar, or a Coke on a daily basis.
http://saveie6.com/
I appreciate this and other studies that affirm that sitting most of the day is bad for you. What am I supposed to do about this? Like a great many professional workers, I work for a large, un-hip company whose furniture, real estate, and office layout is driven by cost and not ergonomics or health. I can't just decide to have a standing desk or reconfigure my 'workstation' -- arbitrarily, and due to client sensitivities I can't work from home. I guess I can just hope the news gets around and maybe my kids will get to have the choice.
This really makes me wish it was the norm for employers to provide standing desks. It seems like the evidence is mounting that traditional desks are killing us. But since a decent adjustable standing desk costs ~ $700-$1500 US, they're seen as a luxury.
I'm not sure it would be a bad thing for OSHA to require employers to provide adjustable desks for office workers.
In the pas few thousands of years, humans have always been mobile. And being mobile, I do not just mean walking. I mean moving around all day.
It is only in the past 75 or so years that we have started to do a LOT of nothing. We sit at our desk and the most we walk is to the printer.
Just look at pictures of 75 years ago and see how few cars there were. All these people and so few cars. They either walked, took a bike or at least walked to the train station. And now we have electric toothbrushes and don't stand up to switch channels.
So what has replaced the moving around all day? Nothing. We don't even stand up to go to the phone anymore.
I noticed this when I went sailing with some friends. On a sailing boat on the sea you move around all day when you just want to sit. Otherwise you fall over. The result was that I was aching all over as I used muscles I normally don't use.
Nothing has replaced what we used to do in the last few thousands of years.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Anything enjoyable, comfortable, or sinful is bad for you. Ideally, we should all work as rowers on a slave ship eating nothing but cardboard and water.
That must be why our ancestors in the past led such long, disease-free lives.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
from any cause"
Isn't the risk of death from any cause 100%? At least for us mortals?
Best Slashdot Co
I'm going to set my alarm clock to go off every hour at night so I can take a 5 minute walk. i'll live forever.
I dont know about you, but its definitely not fruitless when i do it!
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
From the article: "The authors extrapolated from available research that those who spend long hours in sedentary activity are 90% more likely than those who don't to develop type 2 diabetes." I am not a doctor but my understanding is a majority of type 2 diabetes is caused by being overweight. So is it the sitting that is causing the problems in general, and the type 2 diabetes specifically, or is it due to burning less calories than those in an active job so consuming the same calories leads to being over weight? Just my bent $0.02.
Is this merely a correlation or actual causation directly linked to the sitting? This study-of-studies seems very nebulous at best with different studies having different thresholds for what "prolonged sitting" actually means and what alternatives are there? Are standing desks really an alternative?
"Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." - Mark Twain
nuff' said.
Are sedentary people more likely to die, or are people more likely to die sedentary?
Dead people are more likely to be sedentary.
You seem to have a very utopian idea of Europe. Don't worry, Europe is generally some ten years behind contemporary developments in the States but we are quickly catching up especially in rising obesity and directly linked diseases. The massive portion sizes in the States have not always been this huge and gradually grew. There are enough restaurants over here already offering ridiculously massive portions or all-you-can-eat buffets and they make it their main selling point. Oversize clothes stores can be found everywhere as well.
"Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." - Mark Twain
Wow. Thank you for the truly depressing statistic about which I can do absolutely nothing. I have an engineering degree, which binds me to the desk. Having moved into upper management, my ability to leave the desk is reduced even further. My possible exercise, going into the shop with the fumes and dust and particulates is perhaps just as bad. This is just what we need to add to the STEM shortage.
On an earlier job I was sharply criticized for just leaving my desk, at all. I was working in software docs and really had to talk to the developers. My typical process was to try the software on my own, develop a rough outline (the hard part was coming up a 'suggested use.' with so many options, what was the 'intended use'?), and then march the draft to the developer to see what I had missed. This took so much less time than the email flurry. I was at least a factor of four faster than the other writers. But I was accused of "annoying the developers" by trying to do things the right way.
Oh, cancer risk, too? Well I had it (in remission but getting scans and inspections every three months or so). Gotta run to the shop. No more time to write.
because the sitting all day is happening... so... genetic engineering anyone?
I look forward to a new genetically engineered super species... and of course the gills... and flying squirrel wings... and internal testicles. And I assume women would like to lay eggs or something because they don't appear to like the whole pregnancy thing.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
Engaging in 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous daily exercise does not mean it's okay to "sit on your rear" the rest of the day.
Maybe not, but if your lot in life involves sitting for a paycheck, I guarantee you're still better off with the exercise.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Ok, I have myself taken these warning seriously. But at the same time it has left me wondering why just in the recent one or two years, this issue has come up so strongly? The "Sit and you will die, bitch!" headlines are everywhere. Surely static postures are always harmful, but if the risk was that bad, wouldn't this alarm bell have ringed years ago? Is this just some kind of new "fish oil" trend?
If it feels good than it is illegal, immoral, or fattening.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
Wasn't there a paper recently about how walking for 30-minutes countered about 4-hours of sitting?
We keep hearing about how bad sitting is for your health, but usually don't have much on the specific details. There's the sedentary element, which would be taken care of by exercise, but there's also apparent negative factors. However, not much research seems to try and nail down the specifics. Are people who are not in static positions, or bounce their leg not subject to these health effects? If so, it could be that a lot of children are naturally fighting for their health, much to the chagrin of strict teachers.
Also, do any of the negative effects apply, other than perhaps bone stress inherent to putting weight, to someone very active while sitting, such as a drummer?
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
This doesn't really change your point but you do realize that 75 years ago there were fewer than HALF the people than are around now.
"Waitress I need two more boat-drinks..."
20 minutes a day is considered insufficient. 1 hour a day is good.
The overseers want to be able to look across the sea of cubes with low walls and see everyone's head bent down, toiling on their work for the owners. The nail/person that stands up gets hammered down.
Have you never heard the term prairie-dogging with respect to cube farms?
And what is this suggestion about walking to the furthest restroom. You're not being paid to walk to the restroom: you're being paid to work, and work you shall! You're lucky we don't just put a slops bucket in your cube that you have to carry out at the end of the day.
The US Federal law requires providing you with 2 10 minute breaks, in addition to your 30 minute lunch. We get to choose when you take those breaks. We provide you with those breaks: it takes 10 minutes to walk from the timeclock to your work station, and a similar time when you leave at the end of the day.
Thank you, and back to work now.
We have a budding activist for a son (he's 12). We all stand at our desks at our house, but our son, of course, has to sit all day long at school. We're encouraging him to start campaigning for standing desks at his public school, for all children. Yeah, yeah, I know; it'd be a change, and change is difficult, but it seems that the benefits to our society would far outweigh the fixed costs and the socio-educational-cultural adjustments that would have to be made. My own lay estimate is that we'd eliminate most of the childhood type-2 diabetes and improve the classroom educational environment.
I'll just have to do all my computing lying down.
:wq
Just get Obama to mandate that no one is allowed to exercise and no one should walk by taking short breaks at work.
Then you will see an immediate change in all of the U.S with droves of people running to the gym
Building musclemass to unsustainable (even in old age) levels will come back and bite you in the ass. Either it will put pressure on your heart, or it will turn into fat over time. Either way you end up with excess tissue that your body has to provide with air/nutrients and expell garbage from. In other words not something you want when your body starts to deteriorate at the end.
Why do you think all those strongmen, wrestlers etc. rarely live to become very old? Answer: stroke.
If you quote this signature there'll be 72 copies of Windows ME waiting for you in Heaven.
One of the issues with studies like this are they very specific and don't look at the associated environment(s). What I mean is most people who sit all day in a job can be pretty bored/stressed/hate their job kind of people. And since stress is also a contributor to some or all of the diseases ailments they mentioned who is to say that by sitting and working in a boring/stressful job isn't more of the factor than just sitting.
Delaying it is not going to make it any better or worse.
True enough. For death itself.
The thing to really fear is if sitting on your butt all the time increases the risk that you won't be able to enjoy sex for the last 10 years of your life because you'll be too sick to complete the sex act. Even when making love all by yourself. You won't have the heart for it any more. In a very literal way.
That's the true message here. Not that death will take the indolent sooner, but that if you develop one of the sedentary diseases, you will not be able to have much fun in the last, lingering, decades of your life.
Get off your keister and move around a bit. We've got the technology... take your coffee and lunch breaks with a walk with an audio book. Replace your computer desk with a treadmill equiped with a keyboard. Move your butt!
That might be a good rallying cry for all geeks: Move your butt.
Will
I'm not convinced the sitting variable has been properly isolated. The people who get regular exercise but sit for long periods are mostly office workers. Perhaps it's the stress of an office job that is getting to these people rather than sitting. I also note that this "study" aggregated other studies. One of those studies defined excessive sitting as someone who watches more than five hours of television a day. I submit that anybody who watches more than five hours of television a day is suffering from depression or some other condition that would lead to doing such a thing.
citation needed.
Muscle does not turn into fat. Stop exercising and start eating like crap and your body will lose muscle and will also starting putting on fat. The muscle does not turn into fat. Starting lean and muscular will not cause you to get fat faster.
I would bet you are not currently overendowed with muscle. Nobody who works out would believe this urban myth.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
This is why I got my department to buy me a GeekDesk a couple of years ago. I don't stand all day every day, but it lets me stand quite a lot of the time.
Since then, my chronic low-grade upper-back stiffness has decreased a lot—but I find that on weekends, when I tend to sit on the couch with my laptop a lot, it frequently comes back. My legs still sometimes get tired from standing for a few hours at a time, but overall, I think it was a really, really good decision.
If you can't afford a GeekDesk, and think you can handle losing the chair cold turkey, there are much cheaper standing desks that can get you off your butt and on your feet—for your health! :-)
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Muscle doesn't turn to fat. Also, since you are trotting out myths from 30 years ago, sit-ups wont get rid of your gut, and there is no such thing as "toning".
None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
It's the long periods of inactivity that are the problem, not cardiovascular health.
There was a related study several years earlier that suggested people in good shape who went home and plunked down on the sofa for 6 hours suffered as much as couch potatos.
So break that time up and that's the goal.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Drink more water and, in turn, go to bathroom more often.
On related topic now I know why my friends who smoke look so healthy and relaxed- they don't sit and work all day like I do.
When you get that notion, put your back field in motion!
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
Little cup is not a Burger King punishment. It is their management decision to limit the water cup size to make attempts to have soda in water cups impractical.
While stealing soda in Burger King sounds like a ridiculous idea, this option has been considered and addressed by reducing paper cup for water size.
Being Alive Shown to be Deadly.
After several years of exhaustive research, scientists have found that the greatest single contributor to death is being alive. "In 100% of the cases, the subjects death was preceded by a period of being alive," said one researcher. Even after eliminating other potential contributors, such as accidental death, suicide, etc. and adjusting for the age of the subject, the statistics remain strong. "If you are alive today, then you may die tomorrow."
With the rise of Obamacare, these findings could become even more vital, due to the potential effect that such details could have on the total cost of the program. "I think the insurance industry has known this for years, and has been keeping it away from public knowledge," said one official under condition of anonymity. One possibility would be to establish initiatives to curb the spread of being alive. "By reducing the number of people who are alive, we could significantly decrease the number of deaths, regardless of cause. This could amount to trillions of dollars in government savings, but I am not sure if the general public would be willing to give up on such a well established habit," he continued.
McFly777
- - -
"What do people mean when they say the computer went down on them?" -Marilyn Pittman
to publish half-baked studies with no proof of causation
That would be my recommendation. It takes as little space as a chair. I have a dark gray one that blends nicely in the office environment, and I didn't need to change anything -- I even kept my chair for visitors.
Does sitting on a ball helps your health? I don't know of any studies, but speaking for myself, when I sit on a regular chair for more than a couple of hours I get low back pain. With a ball I can work 10-12 hour days without any pain. (My theory is that's because the pressure point is constantly moving a little.) I'm constantly making little movements so I don't feel stuck. It works the abs for sure. It's fun -- when I'm thinking about a problem I can roll on my back and be lying on it and it definitely helps. I also bounce on it when I'm thinking or do balancing poses. I can do situps to shake up a little. When I'm tired I can lean on it at 45 degrees angle and it feels restful. It helps straighten my posture.
The downside is the posture -- I tend to slouch if I can't lean on something. To prevent that, I wear shoulder support straps when I work. That's why it improves my posture, otherwise would degrade it.
Another upside -- I can carry my "chair" with me anywhere (e.g. when I'm going overseas for a month). In that sense it's the opposite of a standing desk. I used a standing desk for about four years, but started having back pains with those as well. Similar reason I guess -- not much change in the pressure point.
I've been sitting on the ball for about 7 months now. It took me about a month or two to break in completely, during which I'd sometimes switch to the regular chair. Now it feels great and my body always prefers the ball.
You need the right size ball; they come in 75, 65, and 55cm diameter. I'm 6'0 and I use the 75cm. They are probably all similar in quality, but this is the one I use and can recommend: http://www.amazon.com/GoFit-75.... I have one for the office and one for home. For shoulder support I use this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CM..., size Large (even though I wear mostly Medium for regular clothing). Hope it helps.
If I stand for any length of time, my knees hurt. My back hurts. Walking isn't so bad, but standing... ugh. Better to die a little earlier than be in pain all the time, no matter what health researchers think.
Did they take into account that people that sit all day might also be sipping on high sugar drinks all day. I can't imaging that just sitting increases risk of diebetes by 90%. I'm sure there are other factors involved.
Thank you for bring up this point. It seems obvious, and yet...
I can see some validity to the "Sitting for extended periods is bad for you" argument. -Even when lying in bed for 8 hours a day, (well, those of us fortunate enough to be getting proper sleep), involves naturally shifting around rather than just lying down in one position.
I find I'm naturally a bit squirrelly when seated at my work desk. I'll often find myself perched on the chair cross-legged for periods of time or in other weird positions, (along with just regular 'sitting'). I don't know if that's good for me, but it feels right.
The increasingly anti-science stance exhibited in threads like this is becoming tiresome.
This image should three MRI's, of three individuals. Two triathletes, one old, and a sedentary old man. Can't really argue with this.
http://www.swiss-miss.com/wp-c...
Why do you think all those strongmen, wrestlers etc. rarely live to become very old? Answer: stroke.
And what causes that stroke? Answer: steroid abuse.
I suppose all wheelchair-bound people are just asking for trouble.
I was all ready to write a scathing post highlighting some of the more stupid points of this "study" - then I saw that the study was done in Canada.
Great job hosers!
You're saying that correlation is a leading cause of causation?
the soft sciences have a hard enough time reproducing the results of even one study and yet these guys (and they are not alone) are doing meta analysis of many other studies. Uncle. I would love to see how they calculated their error bars.
I'm positive the triple existed in 1984 (the last year I lived in a particular city, so I remember it well). It was probably on the menu around 1981 or so - the year that Wendy's came to Our Fair City. The triple was considered obscene, and hence became the traditional end-of-season meal from high school wrestlers. :-)
The US Federal law requires providing you with 2 10 minute breaks, in addition to your 30 minute lunch.
It should, but it does not and only a handful of states require breaks.
You can't spell "oneiromancy" without "roman".
/Oblg. /sarcasm In some religions they do :-)
> The overseers want to be able to look across the sea of cubes with low walls and see everyone's head bent down,
Uh, if everyone is standing, all that has changed is that everyone's head has move up 1 or 2 feet.
> The nail/person that stands up gets hammered down.
Nonsense. Find a better company that knows how to respect people and is willing to _invest_ in their employee's health.
They didn't report the period and the "normal" rate of dying. If the normal chance of dying in one year is 1/10000, a change to 1.2/10000 nothing to worry about. Their result might be statistically significant according to the rules of statistics (which apparently are deeply flawed too), but it certainly looks like noise. Even the doubling for diabetes is probably insignificant.
What part of "All Day" does regular exercise fit in?
Tracy Johnson
Old fashioned text games hosted below:
http://empire.openmpe.com/
BT
The daughter wonted us to take care of her little dog for a weekend. A few months later she "forgot" to pick him up again.
Now we have a 7 pound Yorkshire Terrier that wants to go outside and mark his territory every 2 or 3 hours!
It seems to have helped us both, with muscle tone and cardiac condition.
So get yourself a small dog with firm opinions on schedules, it can save your health! 8-)