Is sitting lethal?

For most of us, the average day consists of 8-10 hours of sitting at a desk followed by extended periods  in traffic and then ends off with a few more hours sitting in front of the TV. Its no secret that sitting for long periods can lead to back pain, stiff and painful joints and weight gain. Is sitting really that bad for us?



Have you ever wondered why some people who consume the same amount of food as others gain more weight?

James Levin, an inactivity researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota was puzzled by this same question. In 2005 he conducted a study which aimed to answer this. Participants in the study consumed the identical amount of calories and were not allowed to exercise at all. Some of the subjects packed on the kilos but other subjects gained little or no weight at all.

In addition to monitoring their diet and weight, subjects were also given motion-tracking underwear to wear. The subjects who gained the least weight were, not surprisingly, the subjects who moved the most. You may be wondering how they did so because they were banned from exercise. They simply performed more movements during the day e.g. walking around the office, taking the stairs, performing housework or gardening. On average, participants who gained more weight sat for two hours more per day than those who didn’t put on weight.

The conventional wisdom is that if you watch your diet and exercise at least a few times a week, you’ll effectively offset your sedentary time i.e. the time spent being inactive.  

However, Marc Hamilton, an inactivity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center says that “Exercise is not a perfect antidote to sitting.” He believes that this idea is as illogical as believing that a person can counter smoking a pack of cigarettes everyday by jogging. 

When we are inactive, the electrical activity of our muscles drops, our calorie-burn rate drops, insulin effectiveness decreases and the enzymes responsible for breaking down fat decrease. These negative effects can be seen after only 24 hours of inactivity.

In a study by the American Cancer Society, men who spent six hours or more per day of their leisure time sitting had an overall death rate that was nearly 20 percent higher than those who sat for three hours or less (during their leisure time). The death rate for women who sat for more than six hours a day was about 40 percent higher. 

The good news is that it is relatively easy to overcome the effects of inactivity. The answer lies in a simple concept with a complicated name: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). It refers to the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. NEAT is a method of reaping major benefits from thousands of minor movements performed throughout the day. 

In Dr Levine’s study using the motion-detecting underwear, obese subjects averaged only 1500 movements per day and 600 minutes of sitting. In comparison, farm workers averaged 5000 daily movements and only 300 minutes of sitting.

Even trivial physical activities increase a person’s metabolic rate substantially and it is the cumulative impact of many small activites that contribute to a person’s daily NEAT.

Tips to increase your daily NEAT:
* Use the stairs instead of the lift
* Don’t go for the closest parking, rather choose one further away and walk more
* Instead of sending an email to a colleague who works near to you, get up and walk
* Do your own housework
* Go for a short walk during your lunch break

Get moving to stay healthy!