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Sitting for too long can kill you, even if you exercise
- malingo 12y agoSource article is behind a paywall [0] Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Conclusion: Prolonged sedentary time was independently associated with deleterious health outcomes regardless of physical activity. [0] http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2091327 http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2091327
- Pxtl 12y agoDangit I need my drawing table back. Loved being able to stand or sit at my desk as needed.
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- notatoad 12y ago"a higher risk of ... death" is there really a higher risk of death? i think my chances of dying are already pretty close to 100%.
- cbd1984 12y agoIf you think brain uploading and/or gerontology will possibly produce a cure for death, your odds of dying may be somewhat less than 100% over some arbitrary finite but very long time span. Even if you disagree with that, you can still parse the statement the way it was intended.
- knodi123 12y agothey didn't say a higher risk of "eventual death". At every moment in your life, you have a certain risk of death. When you reach 114 years of age, the risk is pretty high from moment to moment. Right now, fingers crossed, your risk is pretty low. Too much sitting increases the average of the risks of death for some of the remaining moments of your life. Ha! Pedant your way out of that one!
- nazgulnarsil 12y agoyup, and skydiving without a parachute doesn't change your risk of death either since it is 100% anyway! "higher risk of death" means on average people who engage in the behavior die faster.
- gboss 12y agoActually not 100%: http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/ffallers.html http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/ffallers.html
- ssully 12y agoI understand that the use of aircrafts in WW2 was incredibly high, but I would have thought maybe 1 person survived a free fall and lived, not 6(recorded on that site). Thanks for sharing that.
- fineline 12y agoBy my troth, I care not; a man can die but once; we owe God a death and let it go which way it will, he that dies this year is quit for the next.
- letstryagain 12y agoDon't be a smartass, read the study. They measure risk of death as 'your risk of dying in the next 12 months' And if you really want to be a smartass, note that about 5% of all people have never died.
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- Veratyr 12y agoIt's only an exercise in futility if you consider life in its own right worthless. A sinking ship has no value after it has started sinking whereas a human life certainly does (that's the prevailing opinion in any case). If reading this article and subsequently switching to a standing desk and making sure to move around frequently adds even a day to my life I consider it entirely worth it and not futile in the least. EDIT: The parent comment was something along the lines of 'why bother living a healthy life, we're all dying anyway'. If repeating the deleted comment is wrong somehow, please tell me.
- reasonattlm 12y agoSome past items on this topic for consideration: Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality Risk in 222 497 Australian Adult [1] Curb sitting time to protect aging DNA and possibly extend lifespan [2] Television Viewing and Time Spent Sedentary in Relation to Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis [3] Take a stand and be active to reduce chronic disease, make aging easier, research finds [4] [1]: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108810 http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=11088... [2]: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/bmj-cst090114.php http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/bmj-cst090114... [3]: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/dju098 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/dju098 [4]: http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/jan14/rosenkranz11514.html http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/jan14/rosenkranz11...
- KerrickStaley 12y agoThis is an observational study, and therefore has the usual "correlation does not imply causation" shortcoming. Maybe people with poor heart function or prediabetes don't enjoy standing as much, and tend to do it less (i.e. reverse causality from what the article suggests). Or maybe impoverished people don't have jobs that allow them to stand or move at regular intervals, and also don't have easy access to nutritious foods, causing poor health (i.e. a lurking variable).
- carbocation 12y agoI agree - there is a tremendously high risk of residual confounding in this study, even after adjusting for known/available risk factors. One of the findings, for example, is increased risk of death from cancer. Since this is an observational meta-analysis, I am inclined to wonder whether an equally true assessment is "as people near death from cancer, they tend to be more sedentary". I haven't yet logged in through the academic VPN required to gain access to this article and the articles from which its meta-analysis is derived, so I'll have to reserve judgment until I can do so. For now, it's a fascinating association but I'd be cautious about the interpretation of the direction of the arrow of causality.
- LiweiZ 12y agoAny further reading recommendations for concept of "correlation does not imply causation"? I always look for a concise way to describe this (there are just too many reports concluded in this way, I hope I could let others understand this point sooner to avoid being trapped in the details for too long if not forever) but have not been successful. Your words seems the best I can find.
- skylan_q 12y agoI really like this video. He goes over the difference between clinical and observational studies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1RXvBveht0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1RXvBveht0
- stolio 12y agoFor a humorous look at what happens if we assume correlation causes causation there's Spurious Correlations: http://www.tylervigen.com/ http://www.tylervigen.com/ My favorite: "Number people who drowned by falling into a swimming-pool correlates with Number of films Nicolas Cage appeared in" With enough variables and noise you'll find things that correlate if you look hard enough. Without experiments where you control one thing and observe the other it's hard to demonstrate causation.
- userbinator 12y agoHow about lying down, or even sleeping? The article mentions "sedentary time" and not just sitting in an upright position - presumably that includes sleeping too...
- rab_oof 12y agoModeration in all things including moderation excluding ricin, botulinum, radioactive polonium and militant extremism.
- cseelus 12y agoSo what are good measures for people that need to work in front of a computer, like to read a lot, etc. to avoid/minimize that risks? So far I know of: - Getting a standing desk (which is no alternative suitable for everyone) - Walking around/exercise every ~30 minutes for a short while
- fenomas 12y agoWhen I was in an office, I made a habit of constantly drinking water, from a fairly small cup. Every time I needed to ponder something I'd reflexively wander off to get more water, then stare out the window a bit (apparently focusing on something far away once per hour or so reduces eye strain). Having just started working at home, after a few months I'm feeling the loss of this habit.
- krrrh 12y agoMy strategy is constantly drinking water from a large cup. Being adequately hydrated is only one benefit. The frequent walks to the restroom nay be even more important.
- chetanahuja 12y agoAhh... the good old staring out the window with a drink in hand. My father invented that.
- fenomas 12y agoThank heavens he didn't patent it. ....did he?
- chetanahuja 12y agoDon't worry.... the patent's expired.
- logicallee 12y agoWhatever doesn't make you immortal literally can kill you, even if you do other things.
- zupreme 12y agoThe many long-term meditators from cultures around the globe over a several thousand year period may disagree. Zen meditation, Vipassana meditation, and many other forms of meditation take place often (but not always) from a seated position. Many advanced meditators meditate for many hours per day, for the better part of a lifetime.
- nkangoh 12y agoI've read quite a bit on standing desks and I'm curious if there is any study/research that shows, experimentally, that it's actually [standing] that leads to some of the proposed benefits. I only ask because I wonder if simply exercising while sitting [1] or in general [2] lead to the same benefits or if the very sedentary nature of the circumstances surrounding sitting that lead to these poor outcomes (which then are solved by standing). [1] http://www.amazon.com/FitDesk-v2-0-Desk-Exercise-Massage/dp/B00CM9CBZY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421725283&sr=8-1&keywords=fit+desk http://www.amazon.com/FitDesk-v2-0-Desk-Exercise-Massage/dp/... [2] http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1VDNQA/ref=psdc_3407781_t3_B00CM9CBZY http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1VDNQA/ref=psdc_3407781_t3_B00C... EDIT: Forgot to mention, when I say exercising, I mean during the same time where you would be sitting (e.g. during work, continuously)
- hellbanner 12y agoUsing a standing desk drastically decreased ambient pain in my hands, neck and shoulders. Highly recommend.
- rab_oof 12y agoDefinitely. If it's to be taken at face value, where is one dead person? "Died from sitting." Seriously? I haven't seen a single shred of hard evidence of these FUD claims by the standing desk "cool kids" that are telling us "you're holding it wrong" and that we should do it their way "or it will kill you." C'mon. Trendiness maximus.
- eru 12y ago> Definitely. If it's to be taken at face value, where is one dead person? "Died from sitting." Seriously? People don't die from any single cigarette, either. (Your point might be true, but your argument doesn't pass muster.)
- jacquesm 12y agoMore people die in their beds than in their chairs, so clearly lying down is more dangerous than sitting. People don't die from a single nights sleep either but in the long run it gets them.
- accurrent 12y agoCorrelation doesn't imply causation
- nabindust 12y agoI agree when I sit for continuously my back starts aching
- kendallpark 12y agoI would like to see a study done that factors in the type of exercise. "Moderate to rigorous exercise" is a very broad definition. That could be anything from pumping iron for an hour to running six miles. Standing is a weight bearing activity which has a great effect on bone density and muscle mass. These in turn effect one's long term health. Weightlifting can do more to compensate for the loss of lean body mass due to sedentary living compared to cardio. I'd be curious to see whether weightlifting is more effective than cardio in offsetting the effects of sitting most of the work day.
- desireco42 12y agoWhile there is definite correlation with sitting and not being super healthy, going to other extreme, using standing desk all the time would also give you varicose veins. Some healthy balance of being active and also being knowledge worker and smart Alec would definitely be best.
- kenrick95 12y agoNowadays, the science news are more and more becoming this: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1174 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1174 or maybe this http://xkcd.com/882/ http://xkcd.com/882/ :P
- anaphor 12y agorelative risk increase != absolute risk increase, and I hate when news articles say "20% higher chance of X" without saying the absolute risk.
- memracom 12y agoIf you can't remember to get up from coding, there are timer apps that you can get to remind you to walk around. Besides, it is good for creativity and debugging to get away from the screen and go somewhere else, even if it is only to another part of the office or to stare out a window. In fact, staring out the window also relaxes the eye muscles which helps prevent vision problems and/or migraines.
- unnikked 12y agoI should be dead