Are we sitting too much?
We live in a comfort-centred culture. While comfort does have it's merits, the seemingly insignificant choices we make each day – driving instead of walking, ordering food instead of cooking, binge-watching shows instead of moving our bodies – is steering us into a passive lifestyle that takes a toll on our bodies and minds.
When sedentary, blood circulation is reduced. Dr. Emma Wilmot and her colleagues found that prolonged sedentary behaviour is associated with a 147% increased risk of heart disease [1]. Another study discovered that bus drivers were twice as likely to experience coronary heart disease compared to their bus-conducting co-workers. The reduced blood circulation and muscle inactivity impair the body's ability to use glucose for energy, thus contributing to elevated glucose levels and an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. Dr. Emma Wilmot's study identified a 112% higher prevalence of diabetes among highly sedentary individuals compared to those with lower levels of sedentary behaviour.
The hip flexors, located at the front of the hip joint, allow the knee to be brought up to the chest. When subjected to prolonged periods of inactivity, these muscles are kept in a shortened position, causing them to become tight and inflexible. This limits the hip's range of motion and, over time, can hinder activities like walking, particularly among older individuals. This overall instability can trigger compensatory movements or misalignment at the knee joint, thereby increasing stress on the knees.
Chronic low-grade inflammation also increases due to a sedentary lifestyle. Certain inflammatory signals, such as interleukin-6, rise during periods of inactivity. These signals release other pro-inflammatory molecules, contributing to an overall more inflamed body and an increased likelihood of various chronic diseases. Sedentary behaviour has consistently been linked to more than 30 chronic diseases. The observational data from Dr. Emma Wilmot's study, involving a pool of nearly 800,000 people, demonstrated that the most sedentary individuals experience a 49% greater risk of early death.
Can short vigorous exercise negate the harmful effects of prolonged sedentary behaviour? It appears not so much. One study concluded that 1 hour of intense exercise did not compensate for the negative effects of several hours of sitting. Additionally, a review of 47 studies found that prolonged sitting was strongly associated with negative health consequences, regardless of exercise levels. Not to mention, sitting undoes a lot of the good work of exercise. By design, we are hunter-gatherers, moving for most of the day at a slow pace, resting in the evening, and then sleeping.
Coming home after a long exhausting day and sitting down on the sofa and watching telly can be just what the doctor ordered. However many of us live life chasing comfort and pleasure, avoiding effort, indulging in sugary and salty snacks, disconnecting from the world and staring at a screen. These weaken us. It works against our biology and psychology, we lose our resilience and increase our risk to chronic health problems.
Remember – if you don't use it, you lose it. So make more active choices in your daily life.
Experts will recommend setting a reminder every 30 minutes to get up and break prolonged sitting. Although there is no magic number. Just making a conscious effort to break up long periods of sitting by standing up and walking around, will make lasting impression on your health.
References
1 - Wilmot, E. G., Edwardson, C. L., Achana, F. A., Davies, M. J., Gorely, 252 T., Gray, L. J., Khunti, K., Yates, T., and Biddle, S. J. “Sedentary Time in Adults and the Association with Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Death: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” Diabetologia 55, no. 11 (2012): 2895-2905. doi: 10.1007/s00125-012- 2677-z. Epub 2012 Aug 14. Erratum in: Diabetologia 56, no. 4 (2013): 942-943. PMID: 22890825