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There's evidence showing that exercise does not necessarily offset the damage caused by being sedentary all day. Running, lifting, etc. are good things for sure

There's evidence showing that exercise does not necessarily offset the damage caused by being sedentary all day. Running, lifting, etc. are good things for sure, but saying "if you work your body regularly you will be fine" is not a conclusion you should make at this point. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/much-sitting-linked-heart-disease-diabetes-premature-death-201501227618 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/much-sitting-linked-hear...

nonbirithm 6y ago
Is there any hope besides choosing to stand in any situation where we would normally be sitting for a prolonged period of time? I just got into a cardio routine for the first time in my life in the hopes of becoming healthier, and this has all but destroyed my optimism. If not even exercise and a good diet can save your life if you are still sedentary, then the advice should be clarified to also suggest sitting as little as possible. I ended up believing that checking both those boxes was enough.
- mikenew 6y ago
  If you choose to start exercising you will improve your health, full stop. Being stuck in a chair all day isn't good, but there's no need to change your thinking about exercise. They seem to be two independent things. From what I've read (I'm no kind of expert, so don't just trust my interpretation), is that sitting can interfere with your blood circulation. It constricts blood flow to your legs, and when you're sitting you aren't contracting your leg muscles which is part of what helps move blood around your lower body. It's not so much that sitting itself is bad for you; it's sitting for so long without moving. So just... move around. I love having a sit/stand desk but if that isn't something you can do then just get in the habit of frequently getting up from your desk and walking around a bit. If you need to think about something, do it while you walk. Pretend you have a smoking habit and you need to get up for a cigarette every 20 or 30 minutes. Once you get used to frequently moving around you'll start to become sensitive to sitting down for too long. I can't sit through a movie at a movie theater anymore because I get this overwhelming urge to get up and move around.
wing-_-nuts 6y ago
Everyone says that 'sitting is bad for you', and yeah, I can see being sedentary being bad for you, but if you get regular exercise, I don't buy it. I feel like this is one of those things where they will later find out that some co-mingled variable is skewing results. See the studies years ago that said moderate drinking was good for you, but didn't control for socioeconomic status. Turns out the types of people who have a nice red with dinner every day are also high income and relatively health conscious.
hourislate 6y ago
There also seems to be evidence showing you can offset a days worth of sitting with 40 minutes of sweating exercise. https://www.sciencealert.com/getting-a-sweat-on-for-30-40-minutes-could-offset-a-day-of-sitting-down https://www.sciencealert.com/getting-a-sweat-on-for-30-40-mi...
imtringued 6y ago
Are you saying sleeping is bad for us?

nonbirithm 6y ago

Is there any hope besides choosing to stand in any situation where we would normally be sitting for a prolonged period of time? I just got into a cardio routine for the first time in my life in the hopes of becoming healthier, and this has all but destroyed my optimism. If not even exercise and a good diet can save your life if you are still sedentary, then the advice should be clarified to also suggest sitting as little as possible. I ended up believing that checking both those boxes was enough.

mikenew 6y ago
If you choose to start exercising you will improve your health, full stop. Being stuck in a chair all day isn't good, but there's no need to change your thinking about exercise. They seem to be two independent things. From what I've read (I'm no kind of expert, so don't just trust my interpretation), is that sitting can interfere with your blood circulation. It constricts blood flow to your legs, and when you're sitting you aren't contracting your leg muscles which is part of what helps move blood around your lower body. It's not so much that sitting itself is bad for you; it's sitting for so long without moving. So just... move around. I love having a sit/stand desk but if that isn't something you can do then just get in the habit of frequently getting up from your desk and walking around a bit. If you need to think about something, do it while you walk. Pretend you have a smoking habit and you need to get up for a cigarette every 20 or 30 minutes. Once you get used to frequently moving around you'll start to become sensitive to sitting down for too long. I can't sit through a movie at a movie theater anymore because I get this overwhelming urge to get up and move around.

wing-_-nuts 6y ago

Everyone says that 'sitting is bad for you', and yeah, I can see being sedentary being bad for you, but if you get regular exercise, I don't buy it. I feel like this is one of those things where they will later find out that some co-mingled variable is skewing results. See the studies years ago that said moderate drinking was good for you, but didn't control for socioeconomic status. Turns out the types of people who have a nice red with dinner every day are also high income and relatively health conscious.

hourislate 6y ago

There also seems to be evidence showing you can offset a days worth of sitting with 40 minutes of sweating exercise. https://www.sciencealert.com/getting-a-sweat-on-for-30-40-minutes-could-offset-a-day-of-sitting-down https://www.sciencealert.com/getting-a-sweat-on-for-30-40-mi...

imtringued 6y ago

Are you saying sleeping is bad for us?