By James Kennedy
Contributing Writer
Sitting. It is certainly something that all people – including college students – inevitably do during some part of the day. In fact, we spend at least half of our waking hours just sitting in some way, according to one source. After all, this type of behavior is common, and quite necessary – when socializing with friends or family, doing school work (particularly in the Neil Hellman Library), or just working. So, what is the big deal about it? The results may surprise you.
A study was recently released in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal, in which a group of researchers from the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute analyzed 47 studies specifically relating to this sedentary behavior. Their conclusion was that sitting (or any related sedentary-type behavior), especially for extended periods of time, greatly increases our health risks for cardio-vascular issues (heart disease), forms of cancer, and even chronic health issues, particularly Type II diabetes – in turn shortening your life span — and therefore causing premature death. In fact, one particularly alarming finding was that sitting for eight to twelve hours or more within a day increases the risk of Type II diabetes by 90 percent!!
So, yes, it can kill you to sit.
What about exercise?
Another good point indeed. Of course, some exercise is better than none, and analysis of these studies showed a lower impact of this behavior amongst those who exercised. As one source in particular noted, those who exercised while still engaged in prolonged periods of sitting were 30 % less at risk of dying of any reason within a certain period in comparison to those who did not. It should also be noted that the effects from exercise were not uniform among each study analyzed. As one source noted, “High levels of physical activity were variously defined as “meeting physical activity guidelines” — at least 20 minutes a day of moderately vigorous exercise — to spending at least seven hours a week engaged in moderately vigorous exercise.”
What can we do?
While exercise is an essential contributor to help reduce the impact of engaging in this sedentary behavior, it is appearing to be not enough. Of greatest importance is the emphasis on refraining from prolonged periods of sitting. To help prevent this, several ways were cited by Dr. David Alter, who is a senior researcher at the Toronto Institute and a senior author of the paper. For instance, he states that if you are watching TV, you could stand or even perform some form of exercise during the commercials. More importantly, if sitting at a desk (which is a reality for many of us), you could also try getting up around every thirty minutes, for a period of one to three minutes, and just move around.
As a final recommendation, you should also keep track of just how much you are sitting, and set a goal of reducing that time by a certain amount each week (ultimately by two to three hours of sitting per week). A standing desk was also mentioned, and could be seen as a viable alternative as well. Regardless, any of these simple tips are essential in helping to reduce these potential health risks. For more information, please visit the following sources:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/21/health/sitting-will-kill-you/
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-sitting-health-20150119-story.html
http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2091327
Really?
This may be the response for many after reading this interesting article. After all, how often do you see someone who stays absolutely “glued” to their chairs for such a long period of time? Personally, I think it is in our nature to eventually get up and do something. After all, we at least have to attend to the basic necessities, like going to the bathroom! Further, people in today’s world are always on the go, even when sitting. For example, a dedicated office manager may need to sit and take care of the office (ensuring its success). However, those duties also include other tasks—like copying papers, delivering them, and ultimately assisting other workers – which do require that person to move around. In addition, many people (especially students such like ourselves) are exercising to some extent throughout the week.
Nonetheless, while I do think the study may show the “worst possibility” I certainly do not believe it should be disregarded. After all, health risks such as these are quite serious, and should be taken as such. Further, it really doesn’t seem too difficult to get up a little more, so I don’t think be a little more active would kill any of us either! Taken together, it is quite intriguing how something as rudimentary as sitting could cause such serious problems for us all.
