Sitting down is killing you

Yeah, just saw that on the Dish and thought of posting!

Probably came from the recent NYT article that talked about this too. (Edit, the version I saw was smaller, now I see the NYT cited in the middle of other cites at the bottom of the graphic.)

Scary stuff.

I know I sit too much. Have been trying to get up and move around more since reading the article.

Eventually we're all going to have computers mounted on treadmills and we generate some of the electricity needed to run them...

Is that where you grabbed the bar chart you posted on the other thread?

I love that we read very similar stuff, soz.



I have an exercise bike that's hooked up to a small TV. Works like a charm!

Cycloptichorn

You betcha.

Does it help to twittle your thumbs and shake your legs while sitting? Unfortunately my job requires me to sit.

Do they give other suggestions besides leaning back in your chair for those of us who don't have another option?

The one positive is I have frequent meetings that at least require me to get up and walk to a conference room. I think I will get up and talk with people more rather than send the quick email across the floor in the case where the person is in the same location.

Anyone have other ideas?

My job requires sitting as well and it is an issue. Getting up every 30 mins or so to walk around helps a lot. I also like to punctuate my day with several short, sharp bursts of activity - especially an hour or so after eating. For example, I'll choose to take the stairs when coming back from lunch, and really book it up the stairs. Or close my office door and bust out a hundred jumping jacks, or a minute or two of air squats.

Perhaps a standing desk?

Cycloptichorn

I've read that sitting on an exercise ball instead of a chair can help, too. You're expending just a little bit more calories/ using more muscles in keeping your balance -- if you relax completely you topple over.

That's tough if you have to project any kind of authoritative image though. (I work from home so it doesn't matter.)

Oh but the fidgeting DOES help with calorie burning and fitness. That was another article in the same NYT magazine.

That's a good suggestion the standing desk and I think more places should offer it. I highly doubt they would make such an arrangement - I do know one instant where they did - but it was for some one who needed it medically.

Well I fidget alot maybe that helps in the obseity department.

The exercise ball would be cool although, like you said it would put me in a very odd situation in the office.

I think the moving around more will help. I just have to be cognizant of it. Sometimes when I get involved in a project, I don't realize how long I've been sitting.

I read some article on the sitting issue(s) recently that said a standing desk wasn't the answer either (I forget all the whys), although I figure some standing is a good idea. I'll see if I saved it.

Haha, I would bet anything that they have an ergonomic furniture budget and if you made noises, you'd get it. Most places do - the law requires it in a lot of states - but you have to ask for it.

Cycloptichorn

Just bought an exercise ball for sitting on. I'd already been thinking about it, had a "why not" moment. Gonna look silly but who cares.

Yeah, but while that does help with preventing back issues, sitting in a more comfortable chair encourages you to sit more/longer once you have back problems. It's a slippery slope.

i (try to) drink a large bottle of water @ work every day.
nature calls every hour or so like clockwork...

Yes - I was thinking about that today as I ran to the restroom after drinking a coffee and much water. That increasing my beverage intake would assist me in movement (of legs that is)

Nah - the ergo budget is to buy the standing desk and tall chair for ya. I used to have a barstool in my office for a standing desk at my last job. You only sit when you absolutely have to.

Cycloptichorn

That's healthy as hell, too.

Cycloptichorn

Any statistics about how many calories one burns in this desk position?

Curious, that's all.

The only point that doesn't make perfect sense to me is this: "Sitting 6+ hours makes you up to 40% likelier to die within 15 years than someone who sits less than 3. Even if you exercise."

Never mind the flimsy "up to" and the operative underlying question "How likely am I to die within 15 years to begin with?" But the way I'm interpreting the argument is that sitting contributes significantly to obesity, and it is obesity that causes most of the health problems listed. It would follow then that the way to measure sitting's effect on your body is to monitor fat and weight gain, right? Well, isn't the way to lose weight and fat to exercise? How would exercise not have a significant impact on your likelihood of dying within 15 years?

OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO DIE IN FIFTEEN YEARS

Actually that was the scary part of the NYT article. It has this effect even if you're not obese. You can exercise and seem fit but STILL, sitting is bad news.