5 ms·

‘Sitting is the new smoking’

45 points by w1ntermute 13y ago

ajiang 13y ago
Not to be at all dismissive of the findings and their significance, but this was a study funded and interpreted by a company that sells posture support products. Not done in conjunction with an academic research lab, but done on a company generated survey with no public access to the results. Call me a skeptic - not of the findings, but of the research methodology.
- DenisM 13y ago
  This might be a better source: http://www.natap.org/2010/newsUpdates/SittingTimeCauses.pdf http://www.natap.org/2010/newsUpdates/SittingTimeCauses.pdf
- chadwickthebold 13y ago
  >LumoBack polled 2,019 adults for this survey. The company is backed by $6.3 million in venture capital.. Love this line, in the same vein as your comment.
AliEzer 13y ago
"Silicon Valley Syndrome". Yeah because only people in Silicon Valley suffer from sitting too much...
ihsw 13y ago
> Soda is the new smoking. FTFY. No, really, sitting on your ass may be uncomfortable but it's not 1) addictive 2) marketed heavily to teenagers 3) causing life-long debilitating diseases 4) cheap and abundant.
- bjeanes 13y ago
  Well ... I wouldn't agree with 4 and maybe not even 3 (that stands to be seen), but it's definitely not the new smoking.
  - mahyarm 13y ago
    Soda is extremely cheap and abundant. You can buy 2L bottles for under a dollar everywhere, and it's the express lane to obesity if you drink versions with calories in them. It's even social, where people provide it at parties and offer it to other people, creating a social pressure to consume it. Obesity is spreading throughout the USA at alarming rates, with over %70 of the population being overweight and ~%35 being actually obese!
    - jere 13y ago
      Perhaps the disagreement is that sitting is cheap and abundant.
      - bjeanes 13y ago
        yes, exactly.
- dragonwriter 13y ago
  > sitting on your ass may be uncomfortable but it's not 1) addictive Ok. > 2) marketed heavily to teenagers Its compulsory for teenagers (via mandates for school), as well as marketed heavily to them (in terms of sedentary occupations.) > 3) causing life-long debilitating diseases > 4) cheap and abundant. No, sitting on your butt is actually both of these.
- mistercow 13y ago
  Actually, I can see arguments that it is all four of those. 1) Being sedentary is not directly addictive, but it is self-perpetuating. Being sedentary reduces your overall energy levels, and that leads to more sitting. There are also a ton of psychologically addictive activities that require sitting. 2) What about playing video games, watching movies, Facebook (or whatever the kids do these days), etc.? And don't forget studying. We actually force teenagers to sit for 6-9 hours a day for 75% of the year. 3) There's a good bit of evidence that supports that chronic sitting does, in fact, cause long term harm. 4) What's cheaper than sitting?
- nilkn 13y ago
  While one can contort your four points to fit a sedentary lifestyle, I agree with you that soda fits them all trivially. I also agree that soda poses more of a direct and immediate threat to personal health, as it's a leading cause of obesity and also a major source of sugar, which itself is a leading cause of diabetes. That said, there's still one thing smoking has over soda as well: second hand smoke is both annoying and harmful to nonsmokers. There's not an analogue to this for drinking soda or sitting.
  - ihsw 13y ago
    It's a long-shot but the sugary bullshit crusade has affected every other source of food and water -- sweeteners are added to every possible thing. Real honey, for example, is difficult to find because most honey sold in grocery stores is just honey-flavored corn syrup. Trying to avoid the sweet-foods avalanche is very difficult because it's everywhere.
- angersock 13y ago
  Soda is probably the worst thing you can do for your health. At least cigarettes don't make you fat.
jrockway 13y ago
I use a standing desk for 100% of my workday, but I'm getting really tired of the "humans weren't meant to sit" line. Humans weren't really meant to do anything, we evolved over time to adapt to situations as they happened. We can stand, we can sit, we can run. The only problem is that specializing in one area for 8 hours a day means neglecting the other areas, and that's where the problems come in. The key is not to say "humans weren't meant to sit", but "humans lose muscle tone and flexibility if they only sit" or something more quantifiable.
- jh3 13y ago
  Well, we're sure as shit not meant to sit in front of a screen all day.
  - pa5tabear 13y ago
    I'll readily agree we're "not meant to". However, I'm not sure how to be equally productive without sitting in front of a screen.
  - gnaritas 13y ago
    Nature has no intent, we aren't meant for anything.
    - jere 13y ago
      It's a metaphor. We use lots of metaphors when talking about evolution. They're useful. We say features of organisms were designed and have purposes. It's all metaphor; nothing to get upset over.
      - fluidcruft 13y ago
        It may be a metaphor, but it's also nothing more than a creation-anchor metaphor.
        jere 13y ago
zamalek 13y ago
While I find software development as very personally rewarding job, I spend a lot of my free time contemplating existential problems. The sad personal revelation I have had is that technology is ruining the human race race. My friend said on Facebook a while back that "Relationships are harder now because conversations become texting, arguments become phone calls & feelings become statuses and tweets." It occurred to me that isn't the case at all - relationships have always been hard; we now just have all these ways to avoid nurturing them. In the same way technology is giving us an excuse to not work on our physiological wellbeing, and I can't help but agree with this article (even though they didn't make that association). I think it's time for a new "brogrammer" movement where we instead focus being on healthy (which I am seeing a few examples of - inspiring to say the least). *written on my cell, excuse any typos.
zalew 13y ago
I bet all those clerks who stand all day long feel very healthy. A smoke break is a break from sitting. Smoke for your health!
egonschiele 13y ago
Posture has been a big concern for me. I've improved mine a lot over the years with Esther Gokhale's excellent book (http://amzn.com/B003M9YTYY http://amzn.com/B003M9YTYY). Recently I also installed an app that forces me to take a five minute break every 30 minutes. So I'm really excited to see a startup in this space. I'm not sure if just wearing the device will be enough though...sitting up straight can also be bad for your back if you don't do it right. Just one example: pulling your shoulders back causes strain; you need to roll them back. Even so, I'm glad someone's working on this!
- nazgulnarsil 13y ago
  Lift some heavy ass weights. The solution to poor posture isn't to find ever greater accommodation for atrophied muscles.
ScottWhigham 13y ago
Ugh - what a fluff piece. Perkash said that Lumoback’s goal is use technology in a way that helps, rather than destroys, our body. This is just awful journalism. First, the typo should not be there (it's the fifth paragraph!). Second, the choice to let the press release/feature drive the story is just too much. Third, that statement would've been killed in any high school English/journalism class for being obvious/redundant/unnecessary. "You mean they don't want us to destroy our body? How great of them - I'll take two, please!" No surprise though - she posted four "articles" today and four yesterday: http://venturebeat.com/author/rebeccaggrant/ http://venturebeat.com/author/rebeccaggrant/. The only way you could really do that is if you (a) read the press release, (b) fired an email off to the press contact asking a few basic questions or read the company's media kit, then (c) wrote the article based on that info alone. You don't have time to actually do any "real" journalism when you are on a "four article per day" quota.
mimiflynn 13y ago
I've recently been experiencing numbness and sharp pains when sitting too long. Right now, my doctor feels I might have Pudendal Neuralgia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudendal_neuralgia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudendal_neuralgia
iyulaev 13y ago
What about lying down? A few years ago, BBC covered a scientific study[1] showing that sitting at a 135-degree angle dramatically reduced spinal disk movement. Anecdotally, I found that this sitting position, midway between sitting and lying down, is most comfortable for prolonged periods of time. Maybe at my next workplace I'll insist that my office be fitted with a lounge chair. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6187080.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6187080.stm
enscr 13y ago
I have pain in my lower back constantly due to poor posture while sitting. I was hoping to find some good feedback on those who have used lumoback ? Please chime in. For those like me, I'll recommend this book. It made my life slightly less painful "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back". Look it up online. I'm not affiliated with them in any way.
defen 13y ago
Anecdotal evidence time: I'd never in my life had "good posture" - I was able to sit/stand that way if I focused on it, but as soon as my concentration slipped I'd be back to my old slouching or hunched over ways. So I never understood how people with good posture were able to do it. Then, about 1 year ago (age: early 30s) I started experiencing pretty bad back pain. I'd get out of bed and it would take 10 minutes before I could stand up straight, due to lower back pain. Similarly, when I stood up after sitting for more than 30 minutes or so, it took a while to "straighten out" I tried stretches and a new mattress to no avail, before trying the advice of a co-worker: powerlifting. And holy shit! Within 3 months of deadlifts and squats, my back pain was totally gone. Furthermore, I now understand how some people have good posture - It just happens when your back and supporting muscles are strong enough. No focus required. Anyone else having my kind of problems should look into that. If you've never done it before, pay a trainer so you can learn the proper form. Remember, it's a marathon and not a sprint - if you start at a lower weight than you can do, it's not really a problem, because the goal should be to make gym-going a lifelong habit.
- criley2 13y ago
  Same anecdote! I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! Mine did too, until I learned 1) the proper way to perform complex human motions like lifting something from the ground and 2) increased all of the muscles from my core to my legs that are involved with those complex movements.
  - buss 13y ago
    > I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! This is not strictly true. What works for you does not necessarily work for others, and hassling them for not doing something that hurts them isn't going to help. I've been lifting for almost three years (started Dec 2010). I have very good form which I learned from a friend who was very experienced in lifting (and corroborated by several trainers and random dudes at the gym saying "wow, nice form!"). Before I started lifting I had been running for about 10 years (started running in middle school, didn't start lifting until after college). Everything was going great. Lifting three days a week, running another three days a week, and resting completely one day. Then one day I took a weird step while running and my right knee started hurting. It's never stopped hurting. Two X-Rays, an MRI, two physical therapists later and they don't have any idea why I'm in constant pain (literally constant pain, I'm constantly aware of my knee hurting). I still lift, still with good form, still moving lots of weight around, but my knee still hurts. I can't run anymore, though, as that aggravates the injury. And before you say it, I hurt my knee after I had been running in vibrams for three years. I was running 6-7 miles 3x a week in vibrams and all it took was one weird step to totally ruin that. After the injury, on a PT's advice, I tried switching back to "normal" running shoes. They didn't help at all. I played around with my gait, trying to run with a wider stance since they were guessing my narrow gait was putting stress on the bad point in my knee; that didn't help. Stretching doesn't help, drugs don't really help (the most effective drug so far is Aleve). Lifting seems to have no effect on my knee. I tried not lifting or running for three months and my knee still hurt. I picked lifting back up and it made no difference to my pain levels. Anyway, I'm just trying to say that we all have different physical ailments that cannot necessarily be solved by general advice. Maybe your friends' knees hurt because there's something wrong with them and lifting will make it worse.
001sky 13y ago
A definitive work on this subject that started the trend: http://www.amazon.com/Chair-Rethinking-Culture-Body-Design/dp/0393319555/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381257325&sr=1-2&keywords=the+chair http://www.amazon.com/Chair-Rethinking-Culture-Body-Design/d... It is also worth noting that Humans were not meant to stand for 8-12 hours a day non-stop either.
smoyer 13y ago
I have a very nice adjustable GeekDesk provided by my employer, but I haven't lowered it to a sitting position for months. I generally have no problems standing for long periods of time (assuming I have enough padding in my shoes), but my back will complain if I spend too much time prone (due to an injury 35 years ago). What I really need is more exercise, but when is that study going to come out? I'd love to add a treadmill to my work rig ;)
kayoone 13y ago
A Silicon Valley health startup run by 20-somethings conducting its own private "study" and inventing the "Silicon Valley syndrome" while barking "Sitting is the new smoking". Of course there is some truth to those problems, but this hyperbolism makes them look like a joke to me..
walshemj 13y ago
This is just a company pr puff piece plugging what they are selling.
riggins 13y ago
I though sugar was the new smoking? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2443316 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2443316
noddingham 13y ago
This just in: being alive is bad for your health.
NDizzle 13y ago
As someone with a really fucked up back (1), I work full time from home. I have three stations. I have a normal 30" tall desk, a 45" tall standing desk, and a recliner that I use in conjunction with one of those lap board-desk things. Mixing it up is the key. One thing isn't necessarily better than the other 100% of the time. I still haven't found a chair I like, so my actual desk is what I use least. Maybe 2 hours a day. (1) I have two bulging discs, one extruded disc, and one fractured disc. This is all L5 through L2, at the very bottom of my back.
vitd 13y ago
Why do horrible pieces like this end up on the front page? From the article: "'Personal posture trainer' startup LumoBack released the results of a study today that examined 'Silicon Valley Syndrome,'...The results are shocking: 60 percent of participants reported that they have experienced adverse health effects as a result of technology." So a company that did its own study found that their service would help 60% of people? Big surprise. But there's more wrong with this. "60% of participants reported ... adverse health effects ... of technology." 60% out of how many? And does that mean that 40% of users reported no bad effects at all? I mean even if you don't feel back pain and posture problems, you probably get eye strain when looking too long at a screen from time to time. Of course, eye strain isn't a hugely debilitating problem, so counting it with more serious things is deceptive. This is a terrible article.
joveian 13y ago
I've read a bunch of these type of articles over the past 3-4 years; the better articles make it clear(er) that there is nothing resembling evidence for these claims (which isn't to say it is impossible that there could be some truth). OTOH, I've found the workrave and redshift applications to be very useful to me. I encourage software and OS designers to consider what is possible and useful to a person sitting in front of a computer and how to integrate this. It seem like a minimally explored realm of applications that a good number of people may just like independent of any psudo-medical hand waving.

45 points by w1ntermute 13y ago

Not to be at all dismissive of the findings and their significance, but this was a study funded and interpreted by a company that sells posture support products. Not done in conjunction with an academic research lab, but done on a company generated survey with no public access to the results. Call me a skeptic - not of the findings, but of the research methodology.

DenisM 13y ago
This might be a better source: http://www.natap.org/2010/newsUpdates/SittingTimeCauses.pdf http://www.natap.org/2010/newsUpdates/SittingTimeCauses.pdf
chadwickthebold 13y ago
>LumoBack polled 2,019 adults for this survey. The company is backed by $6.3 million in venture capital.. Love this line, in the same vein as your comment.

AliEzer 13y ago

"Silicon Valley Syndrome". Yeah because only people in Silicon Valley suffer from sitting too much...

ihsw 13y ago

> Soda is the new smoking. FTFY. No, really, sitting on your ass may be uncomfortable but it's not 1) addictive 2) marketed heavily to teenagers 3) causing life-long debilitating diseases 4) cheap and abundant.

bjeanes 13y ago
Well ... I wouldn't agree with 4 and maybe not even 3 (that stands to be seen), but it's definitely not the new smoking.
- mahyarm 13y ago
  Soda is extremely cheap and abundant. You can buy 2L bottles for under a dollar everywhere, and it's the express lane to obesity if you drink versions with calories in them. It's even social, where people provide it at parties and offer it to other people, creating a social pressure to consume it. Obesity is spreading throughout the USA at alarming rates, with over %70 of the population being overweight and ~%35 being actually obese!
  - jere 13y ago
    Perhaps the disagreement is that sitting is cheap and abundant.
    - bjeanes 13y ago
      yes, exactly.
dragonwriter 13y ago
> sitting on your ass may be uncomfortable but it's not 1) addictive Ok. > 2) marketed heavily to teenagers Its compulsory for teenagers (via mandates for school), as well as marketed heavily to them (in terms of sedentary occupations.) > 3) causing life-long debilitating diseases > 4) cheap and abundant. No, sitting on your butt is actually both of these.
mistercow 13y ago
Actually, I can see arguments that it is all four of those. 1) Being sedentary is not directly addictive, but it is self-perpetuating. Being sedentary reduces your overall energy levels, and that leads to more sitting. There are also a ton of psychologically addictive activities that require sitting. 2) What about playing video games, watching movies, Facebook (or whatever the kids do these days), etc.? And don't forget studying. We actually force teenagers to sit for 6-9 hours a day for 75% of the year. 3) There's a good bit of evidence that supports that chronic sitting does, in fact, cause long term harm. 4) What's cheaper than sitting?
nilkn 13y ago
While one can contort your four points to fit a sedentary lifestyle, I agree with you that soda fits them all trivially. I also agree that soda poses more of a direct and immediate threat to personal health, as it's a leading cause of obesity and also a major source of sugar, which itself is a leading cause of diabetes. That said, there's still one thing smoking has over soda as well: second hand smoke is both annoying and harmful to nonsmokers. There's not an analogue to this for drinking soda or sitting.
- ihsw 13y ago
  It's a long-shot but the sugary bullshit crusade has affected every other source of food and water -- sweeteners are added to every possible thing. Real honey, for example, is difficult to find because most honey sold in grocery stores is just honey-flavored corn syrup. Trying to avoid the sweet-foods avalanche is very difficult because it's everywhere.
angersock 13y ago
Soda is probably the worst thing you can do for your health. At least cigarettes don't make you fat.

jrockway 13y ago

I use a standing desk for 100% of my workday, but I'm getting really tired of the "humans weren't meant to sit" line. Humans weren't really meant to do anything, we evolved over time to adapt to situations as they happened. We can stand, we can sit, we can run. The only problem is that specializing in one area for 8 hours a day means neglecting the other areas, and that's where the problems come in. The key is not to say "humans weren't meant to sit", but "humans lose muscle tone and flexibility if they only sit" or something more quantifiable.

jh3 13y ago
Well, we're sure as shit not meant to sit in front of a screen all day.
- pa5tabear 13y ago
  I'll readily agree we're "not meant to". However, I'm not sure how to be equally productive without sitting in front of a screen.
- gnaritas 13y ago
  Nature has no intent, we aren't meant for anything.
  - jere 13y ago
    It's a metaphor. We use lots of metaphors when talking about evolution. They're useful. We say features of organisms were designed and have purposes. It's all metaphor; nothing to get upset over.
    - fluidcruft 13y ago
      It may be a metaphor, but it's also nothing more than a creation-anchor metaphor.
      - jere 13y ago

zamalek 13y ago

While I find software development as very personally rewarding job, I spend a lot of my free time contemplating existential problems. The sad personal revelation I have had is that technology is ruining the human race race. My friend said on Facebook a while back that "Relationships are harder now because conversations become texting, arguments become phone calls & feelings become statuses and tweets." It occurred to me that isn't the case at all - relationships have always been hard; we now just have all these ways to avoid nurturing them. In the same way technology is giving us an excuse to not work on our physiological wellbeing, and I can't help but agree with this article (even though they didn't make that association). I think it's time for a new "brogrammer" movement where we instead focus being on healthy (which I am seeing a few examples of - inspiring to say the least). *written on my cell, excuse any typos.

zalew 13y ago

I bet all those clerks who stand all day long feel very healthy. A smoke break is a break from sitting. Smoke for your health!

egonschiele 13y ago

Posture has been a big concern for me. I've improved mine a lot over the years with Esther Gokhale's excellent book (http://amzn.com/B003M9YTYY http://amzn.com/B003M9YTYY). Recently I also installed an app that forces me to take a five minute break every 30 minutes. So I'm really excited to see a startup in this space. I'm not sure if just wearing the device will be enough though...sitting up straight can also be bad for your back if you don't do it right. Just one example: pulling your shoulders back causes strain; you need to roll them back. Even so, I'm glad someone's working on this!

nazgulnarsil 13y ago
Lift some heavy ass weights. The solution to poor posture isn't to find ever greater accommodation for atrophied muscles.

ScottWhigham 13y ago

Ugh - what a fluff piece. Perkash said that Lumoback’s goal is use technology in a way that helps, rather than destroys, our body. This is just awful journalism. First, the typo should not be there (it's the fifth paragraph!). Second, the choice to let the press release/feature drive the story is just too much. Third, that statement would've been killed in any high school English/journalism class for being obvious/redundant/unnecessary. "You mean they don't want us to destroy our body? How great of them - I'll take two, please!" No surprise though - she posted four "articles" today and four yesterday: http://venturebeat.com/author/rebeccaggrant/ http://venturebeat.com/author/rebeccaggrant/. The only way you could really do that is if you (a) read the press release, (b) fired an email off to the press contact asking a few basic questions or read the company's media kit, then (c) wrote the article based on that info alone. You don't have time to actually do any "real" journalism when you are on a "four article per day" quota.

mimiflynn 13y ago

I've recently been experiencing numbness and sharp pains when sitting too long. Right now, my doctor feels I might have Pudendal Neuralgia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudendal_neuralgia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudendal_neuralgia

iyulaev 13y ago

What about lying down? A few years ago, BBC covered a scientific study[1] showing that sitting at a 135-degree angle dramatically reduced spinal disk movement. Anecdotally, I found that this sitting position, midway between sitting and lying down, is most comfortable for prolonged periods of time. Maybe at my next workplace I'll insist that my office be fitted with a lounge chair. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6187080.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6187080.stm

enscr 13y ago

I have pain in my lower back constantly due to poor posture while sitting. I was hoping to find some good feedback on those who have used lumoback ? Please chime in. For those like me, I'll recommend this book. It made my life slightly less painful "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back". Look it up online. I'm not affiliated with them in any way.

defen 13y ago

Anecdotal evidence time: I'd never in my life had "good posture" - I was able to sit/stand that way if I focused on it, but as soon as my concentration slipped I'd be back to my old slouching or hunched over ways. So I never understood how people with good posture were able to do it. Then, about 1 year ago (age: early 30s) I started experiencing pretty bad back pain. I'd get out of bed and it would take 10 minutes before I could stand up straight, due to lower back pain. Similarly, when I stood up after sitting for more than 30 minutes or so, it took a while to "straighten out" I tried stretches and a new mattress to no avail, before trying the advice of a co-worker: powerlifting. And holy shit! Within 3 months of deadlifts and squats, my back pain was totally gone. Furthermore, I now understand how some people have good posture - It just happens when your back and supporting muscles are strong enough. No focus required. Anyone else having my kind of problems should look into that. If you've never done it before, pay a trainer so you can learn the proper form. Remember, it's a marathon and not a sprint - if you start at a lower weight than you can do, it's not really a problem, because the goal should be to make gym-going a lifelong habit.

criley2 13y ago
Same anecdote! I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! Mine did too, until I learned 1) the proper way to perform complex human motions like lifting something from the ground and 2) increased all of the muscles from my core to my legs that are involved with those complex movements.
- buss 13y ago
  > I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! This is not strictly true. What works for you does not necessarily work for others, and hassling them for not doing something that hurts them isn't going to help. I've been lifting for almost three years (started Dec 2010). I have very good form which I learned from a friend who was very experienced in lifting (and corroborated by several trainers and random dudes at the gym saying "wow, nice form!"). Before I started lifting I had been running for about 10 years (started running in middle school, didn't start lifting until after college). Everything was going great. Lifting three days a week, running another three days a week, and resting completely one day. Then one day I took a weird step while running and my right knee started hurting. It's never stopped hurting. Two X-Rays, an MRI, two physical therapists later and they don't have any idea why I'm in constant pain (literally constant pain, I'm constantly aware of my knee hurting). I still lift, still with good form, still moving lots of weight around, but my knee still hurts. I can't run anymore, though, as that aggravates the injury. And before you say it, I hurt my knee after I had been running in vibrams for three years. I was running 6-7 miles 3x a week in vibrams and all it took was one weird step to totally ruin that. After the injury, on a PT's advice, I tried switching back to "normal" running shoes. They didn't help at all. I played around with my gait, trying to run with a wider stance since they were guessing my narrow gait was putting stress on the bad point in my knee; that didn't help. Stretching doesn't help, drugs don't really help (the most effective drug so far is Aleve). Lifting seems to have no effect on my knee. I tried not lifting or running for three months and my knee still hurt. I picked lifting back up and it made no difference to my pain levels. Anyway, I'm just trying to say that we all have different physical ailments that cannot necessarily be solved by general advice. Maybe your friends' knees hurt because there's something wrong with them and lifting will make it worse.

001sky 13y ago

A definitive work on this subject that started the trend: http://www.amazon.com/Chair-Rethinking-Culture-Body-Design/dp/0393319555/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381257325&sr=1-2&keywords=the+chair http://www.amazon.com/Chair-Rethinking-Culture-Body-Design/d... It is also worth noting that Humans were not meant to stand for 8-12 hours a day non-stop either.

smoyer 13y ago

I have a very nice adjustable GeekDesk provided by my employer, but I haven't lowered it to a sitting position for months. I generally have no problems standing for long periods of time (assuming I have enough padding in my shoes), but my back will complain if I spend too much time prone (due to an injury 35 years ago). What I really need is more exercise, but when is that study going to come out? I'd love to add a treadmill to my work rig ;)

kayoone 13y ago

A Silicon Valley health startup run by 20-somethings conducting its own private "study" and inventing the "Silicon Valley syndrome" while barking "Sitting is the new smoking". Of course there is some truth to those problems, but this hyperbolism makes them look like a joke to me..

walshemj 13y ago

This is just a company pr puff piece plugging what they are selling.

riggins 13y ago

I though sugar was the new smoking? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2443316 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2443316

noddingham 13y ago

This just in: being alive is bad for your health.

NDizzle 13y ago

As someone with a really fucked up back (1), I work full time from home. I have three stations. I have a normal 30" tall desk, a 45" tall standing desk, and a recliner that I use in conjunction with one of those lap board-desk things. Mixing it up is the key. One thing isn't necessarily better than the other 100% of the time. I still haven't found a chair I like, so my actual desk is what I use least. Maybe 2 hours a day. (1) I have two bulging discs, one extruded disc, and one fractured disc. This is all L5 through L2, at the very bottom of my back.

vitd 13y ago

Why do horrible pieces like this end up on the front page? From the article: "'Personal posture trainer' startup LumoBack released the results of a study today that examined 'Silicon Valley Syndrome,'...The results are shocking: 60 percent of participants reported that they have experienced adverse health effects as a result of technology." So a company that did its own study found that their service would help 60% of people? Big surprise. But there's more wrong with this. "60% of participants reported ... adverse health effects ... of technology." 60% out of how many? And does that mean that 40% of users reported no bad effects at all? I mean even if you don't feel back pain and posture problems, you probably get eye strain when looking too long at a screen from time to time. Of course, eye strain isn't a hugely debilitating problem, so counting it with more serious things is deceptive. This is a terrible article.

joveian 13y ago

I've read a bunch of these type of articles over the past 3-4 years; the better articles make it clear(er) that there is nothing resembling evidence for these claims (which isn't to say it is impossible that there could be some truth). OTOH, I've found the workrave and redshift applications to be very useful to me. I encourage software and OS designers to consider what is possible and useful to a person sitting in front of a computer and how to integrate this. It seem like a minimally explored realm of applications that a good number of people may just like independent of any psudo-medical hand waving.