Prolonged daily sitting is associated with a shorter lifespan, even in those who exercise regularly. Standing and treadmill desks are two potential solutions for office workers.
Standing Up for Your Health
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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
A study published last year in the Journal of the American Heart Association linked TV watching with death. “Television viewing time was associated with increased risk of all-cause and [cardiovascular disease] mortality.” Video game playing, too.
So, do you have to kill your TV before it kills you? They don’t think it was the TV itself, but rather a proxy for sedentary behavior. But, of course, not all sedentary behavior is bad.
Look; sleeping isn’t, and you can’t get more sedentary than that. In fact, not getting a good night’s sleep may be “a novel and independent risk factor for obesity.” Forty-three studies reviewed, and the majority of forward-looking studies have associated spending much of the day sitting with a shorter lifespan.
And, what’s crazy is that “the time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level.” Heart disease mortality was significantly elevated—even in people who otherwise exercised regularly. So, just going to the gym after your desk job may not eliminate the risks of sitting around all day. It’s something our bodies never evolved to do.
So, if we can, we shouldn’t sit down on the job, and instead, try thinking on our feet. Whether high tech, or low tech, consider a standing desk for reading the newspaper, watching TV, paying bills—whatever tasks we might otherwise do sitting down.
Or, even better, slide a treadmill under there. Here’s my crazy contraption. It’s just lots of duct tape and bungie cords, basically. I can usually get in a good 15 miles a day. Bottom line, we need to stand up, for our health.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Chaput JP, Klingenberg L, Sjödin A. Do all sedentary activities lead to weight gain: sleep does not. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010 Nov;13(6):601-7.
- van Uffelen JG, Wong J, Chau JY, van der Ploeg HP, Riphagen I, Gilson ND, Burton NW, Healy GN, Thorp AA, Clark BK, Gardiner PA, Dunstan DW, Bauman A, Owen N, Brown WJ. Occupational sitting and health risks: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2010 Oct;39(4):379-88.
- Stamatakis E, Hamer M, Dunstan DW. Screen-based entertainment time, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular events: population-based study with ongoing mortality and hospital events follow-up. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011 Jan 18;57(3):292-9.
- Dunstan DW, Barr EL, Healy GN, Salmon J, Shaw JE, Balkau B, Magliano DJ, Cameron AJ, Zimmet PZ, Owen N.Television viewing time and mortality: the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Circulation. 2010 Jan 26;121(3):384-91.
Images thanks to dietbruboy; ginatrapani; Shreyans Bhansali; and massdistraction via flickr; and HandsettBattery
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
A study published last year in the Journal of the American Heart Association linked TV watching with death. “Television viewing time was associated with increased risk of all-cause and [cardiovascular disease] mortality.” Video game playing, too.
So, do you have to kill your TV before it kills you? They don’t think it was the TV itself, but rather a proxy for sedentary behavior. But, of course, not all sedentary behavior is bad.
Look; sleeping isn’t, and you can’t get more sedentary than that. In fact, not getting a good night’s sleep may be “a novel and independent risk factor for obesity.” Forty-three studies reviewed, and the majority of forward-looking studies have associated spending much of the day sitting with a shorter lifespan.
And, what’s crazy is that “the time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level.” Heart disease mortality was significantly elevated—even in people who otherwise exercised regularly. So, just going to the gym after your desk job may not eliminate the risks of sitting around all day. It’s something our bodies never evolved to do.
So, if we can, we shouldn’t sit down on the job, and instead, try thinking on our feet. Whether high tech, or low tech, consider a standing desk for reading the newspaper, watching TV, paying bills—whatever tasks we might otherwise do sitting down.
Or, even better, slide a treadmill under there. Here’s my crazy contraption. It’s just lots of duct tape and bungie cords, basically. I can usually get in a good 15 miles a day. Bottom line, we need to stand up, for our health.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Chaput JP, Klingenberg L, Sjödin A. Do all sedentary activities lead to weight gain: sleep does not. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010 Nov;13(6):601-7.
- van Uffelen JG, Wong J, Chau JY, van der Ploeg HP, Riphagen I, Gilson ND, Burton NW, Healy GN, Thorp AA, Clark BK, Gardiner PA, Dunstan DW, Bauman A, Owen N, Brown WJ. Occupational sitting and health risks: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2010 Oct;39(4):379-88.
- Stamatakis E, Hamer M, Dunstan DW. Screen-based entertainment time, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular events: population-based study with ongoing mortality and hospital events follow-up. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011 Jan 18;57(3):292-9.
- Dunstan DW, Barr EL, Healy GN, Salmon J, Shaw JE, Balkau B, Magliano DJ, Cameron AJ, Zimmet PZ, Owen N.Television viewing time and mortality: the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Circulation. 2010 Jan 26;121(3):384-91.
Images thanks to dietbruboy; ginatrapani; Shreyans Bhansali; and massdistraction via flickr; and HandsettBattery
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Title
Standing Up for Your Health
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Though right now I’m writing this sitting on my butt in a plane, that treadmill is where most of the NutritionFacts.org magic happens. However, before you try standing or treadmilling all day, make sure you have good footwear—learn from my mistake! What we eat may be more important than exercise. See Is it the Diet, the Exercise, or Both? and What Women Should Eat to Live Longer.
For further context, check out my associated blog post: Treadmill Desks: Stand Up For Health.
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