Why sitting is as bad as smoking & obesity (+20 min at-home non-exercise to combat inactivity)

HealthFitness
Written By Chase Wheeler

Sit down. Take a load off. Grab a seat and learn why you may want to stand up and stretch after reading this article.  

What exactly does sitting do to your health?

Inactivity leads to a lack of blood flow & nutrients throughout our body as well as caloric abundance surrounding our cells.




Picture this: A recent concern due to Covid-19 is toilet paper scarcity. Remember when people were lining up to wipe stores clean of all their TP? There is a clear issue if you run out of TP during a lockdown, so people felt the need to be safe rather than sorry by straight-up hoarding toilet paper. Now, picture you made it back from the store and have a room full of toilet paper stacked to the ceiling. You now have no concern of running out of TP. Bring on the quarantine. Now also imagine you have two toddlers at home who happen to LOVE TP. Your toddlers know exactly where the TP stash is located and how to get in unnoticed, to unroll, tear up, you name it. The longer they’re in there, the more damage they do. 


This analogy of TP and toddlers is similar to our cells being surrounded by an abundance of nutrients, as a result of prolonged periods of inactivity.. At face value, TP and toddlers are perfectly nice to have in our lives. The same goes for healthy cells and nutrients. The problem is when harmful (autoimmune, cancerous, diabetic, obese) cells in our body are surrounded by excess nutrients, they have a better chance of thriving, causing negative impacts on our health. Sitting is leaving the toddlers unattended: the more time uninterrupted, the more damage. 



Sitting has increased as a result of working from home during COVID-19

As a result of COVID the average person is spending an additional four hours a day sitting. 

According to the World Health Organization, 31% of individuals 15 years or older are classified as physically inactive, and approximately 3.2 million deaths per year are attributed to this unhealthy lifestyle behavior. Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior cost healthcare systems around the world $53.8 billion dollars in 2013, and that’s the conservative estimate. A new survey shows that COVID restrictions have made Americans far more inactive, with the average person spending an additional four hours a day sitting down. 




 

Health risk associated with prolonged sitting

What are the health implications of sitting too long?

A sedentary lifestyle is associated strongly with diabetes and cardiovascular risk as well as all-cause mortality. Growing data suggest that spending too many hours sitting is hazardous to your health, as Harvard Health found that habitual inactivity raises risks for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, deep-vein thrombosis, and metabolic syndrome. Not to mention the chronic muscle pain so many of us have experienced from poor posture.

 

Prolonged inactivity is the real issues  

How long is too long for prolonged inactivity (sitting)?

Those who sat for more than 8+ hours a day with no physical activity had a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying posed by obesity and smoking. 

An analysis of 13 studies found that those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying posed by obesity and smoking, while the typical office worker may spend a whopping 15 hours per day sitting. That statistic seems to be on the high end considering a normal workday is only 8 hours. However, if we consider the increase in work from home plus downtime following a workday (maybe watching Netflix, eating dinner at the same table we work from), then 15 hours of sitting become believable. The problem with 15 hours of sitting is that number is almost double the recommended time to avoid negative health effects.



After work from home became the new norm due to COVID restrictions, and the average person spent an additional four hours a day sitting down, when you add that to our 15 hour total and you get an average of 19 hours of sitting! I know this is a lot of math, but long story short we are basically turning into cooked vegetables! 

Combating prolonged inactivity 

How often should you get up from sitting?

60 to 75 minutes of moderately intense physical activity a day countered the effects of too much sitting.

With all that inactivity there is no surprise that one hour of daily physical exercise cannot completely compensate for the negative effects of inactivity. With that being said, one hour of daily physical exercise is much better than zero. Especially when that one hour is of moderate intensity. For more than 1 million people 60 to 75 minutes of moderately intense physical activity a day countered the effects of too much sitting


Aim for the recommended 10,000 steps a day. Or if you are feeling like a superstar go for 12,000+ steps per day

US adults take between approximately 2,000 and approximately 12,000 steps per day. At the low range (2,000 steps) we increase the risk for developing chronic metabolic diseases and insulin resistance.  

Whealthy Tip: A fitness tracker such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch is a great way to count steps and receive reminders to get up and get moving. Also having a dog who likes to go for walks doesn’t hurt. 

 

Achieving 60 minutes+ of activity through Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) 

Implementing periodic physical activity during leisure-time and occupational activities could be essential to maintaining a negative energy balance, and result in up to an extra 2000 kcal of expenditure per day.

Nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is an important component of daily energy expenditure. NEAT represents the common daily activities, such as walking, and standing resulting in up to an extra 2000 kcal burnt per day. One study found that obese individuals were seated, on average, two hours longer per day than lean individuals. If obese individuals implemented NEAT activites throughout their day they might expend an additional 350 calories (kcal) per day.  


Additional options provided by Mayo Clinic to avoid prolonged periods of inactivity

  • Take a break from sitting every 30 minutes.

  • Stand while talking on the phone or watching television.

  • Try a standing or walking desk. 

  • Go for a walk during *zoom meetings* rather than sitting. Encourage your coworkers to do the same. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/nilofer_merchant_got_a_meeting_take_a_walk?language=en 

 
Chase Wheeler
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