Sitting is Killing You
Yes, you read that right. Sitting is killing you. It might not seem so threatening right now, but cumulatively and progressively, sitting is killing you. Sorry…not to open this blog on such a dark note but it really is an attention-grabbing headline, and that is just what I needed! So let’s learn a bit more about how and why sitting is killing you and what exactly we need to do to defend ourselves (lol).
We all sit. Totally normal! You may notice that you sit more than you used to sit, which is a normal progression of human life now it seems. We move around a lot as kids, but as we settle into adult life with a desk job and endless streaming opportunities, sitting becomes more frequent and for longer durations.
What exactly do I mean by "sitting?" Sitting is being in a position in which one’s weight is supported by their buttocks rather than their feet. However in this article, sitting is referring to any time where you are awake and are not standing, walking, or moving around. I feel like you probably know what sitting is, but defining the action here is important to understanding the enemy.
The Rise of Sitting (haha, that’s punny)
The lives we live today are much different than our ancestors, and even quite different from the lives our parents and grandparents lived. Sitting is a behavior that is on the rise because people all over the world are spending increasing time at desks, in the car, at home, and glued to their technology (Owen et al., 2010). Work spaces, schools, homes, and public spaces are commonly engineered and even re-designed to reduce the amount of work and activity people need to do within them, leading to more time spent sitting and less time spent moving (Owen et al., 2010).
The reduction in a physically demanding life with all the new technology and transportation options is concerning. According to Owen and colleagues (2010), the number of Americans engaging in sedentary jobs has increased from 2 in 10 to 6 in 10 from 1970-2003 with a subsequent increase in screen time. Households with computers and internet access increased from 15% to 69% between 1989 and 2009 (Owen et al., 2010), and is likely higher now. At the time of this 2010 article by Owen and colleagues, screen time was around 4 hours per day, however today in 2023, Americans average 7 hours per day of screen time (DataReportal, 2023).
The above stats are some astonishing numbers and although you may fall into those statistics, fear not! The purpose of this blog post is to not only scare you, but to help you understand the risks associated with sitting and how you can decrease the amount of time spent on your tush.
Understanding the Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle
Sedentary behavior refers to any waking activity that expends very little energy [approximately 1.0-1.5 MET], where a MET is a ratio of working metabolic rate to resting metabolic rate (Park et al., 2020). MET is short for metabolic equivalent and your metabolic rate is the amount of energy that is expended over time. Basically, these are science words that explain how much and how fast energy expenditure is occurring with any given activity compared to how much energy is expended during rest. You can read more about and view common METs here. An activity with a larger MET value is a more physically demanding activity, requiring more energy to perform. Sitting and other sedentary behaviors like playing video games, driving, typing, and reading are low energy expending activities requiring little to no physical effort to do, hence the low MET values. As people engage in more sedentary behaviors than non-sedentary, they are living a sedentary lifestyle.
Sedentary lifestyles are a risk factor for ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY (Owen et al., 2010, Park et al., 2020), a death from any cause. A sedentary lifestyle is also a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, hypertension aka high blood pressure, and certain cancers (Park et al., 2020). These are chronic diseases that can cause irreparable damage to your organs, reduce the quality of your life, and affect your ability to age gracefully. Collectively, the incidences of these diseases are increasing, and one of the largest known factors to blame? Sedentary lifestyles.
I Don’t Want to Increase my Risk of Death
So, you don’t want to die. I can’t say I blame you! The solution seems simple, right? Just don’t sit as much. Oh! But, it is so easy to say, and not so easy to do. The remainder of this article will help you differentiate between an active lifestyle and physical activity, give you some helpful tips to decrease your time spent sitting, and *hopefully* help you cultivate the active lifestyle we all desperately need.
The first thought people may have when they think about changing their unhealthy habits is to start exercising. Exercise is an essential component to living a full life. Exercise can help you build strength and improve body composition (among other benefits), but simply exercising for a single period daily is not enough to combat the negatives of a sedentary lifestyle. Exercise is activity that requires physical effort, usually in an attempt to improve one’s physical fitness. Katzmarzyk and colleagues (2019) reported a significant dose-response relationship between time spent being sedentary and all-cause mortality, which means as the total time spent sitting daily increases, so does the risk for all causes of death. While exercise is one way to increase daily physical activity, it is not the only measure we need to take to decrease the health risks from sitting for prolonged periods of time.
Let’s use an example here: Subject A and Subject B both spend 10 hours at their desk job, and both Subject A and Subject B exercise vigorously for 1 hour daily. However, if Subject A goes home after exercising and sits on the couch the rest of the night while Subject B does some yard work, walks the dog, does the dishes, plays the drums, and then sits on the couch the rest of the night, then Subject B’s risk of all-cause mortality is reduced compared to Subject A (if all other health factors are the same). Subject B spends less total time being sedentary compared to Subject A because they perform chores, have a pet, and have an active hobby. The main takeaway is that you should adopt a pet! Okay, well no, not really (but it would be fun); The main takeaway is that exercise in itself is not enough to decrease the risks of sedentary behavior. Sure it helps, but we need some other movement in our lives. We need to live an active lifestyle. We need to incorporate physical activity throughout the day and not limit our physical activity to one isolated portion of the day, such as an exercise session. Physical activity is not just exercise, but any movement of the body that requires energy expenditure. Remember METs from earlier in this article? Physical activity is any activity that requires more METs than sedentary behavior, which is not difficult to beat.
Add More Physical Activity To Your Day!
Let’s beat those sedentary METs! The initial step of getting you off your tush and on your way to a more active lifestyle was making you aware of the health risks associated with sitting. Now that you know the risks, we need to take action. You can add physical activity to your day any way you see fit, but my recommendations are as follows:
Swap out your seated desk for a sit-to-stand desk. I don’t want you to sit all the time of course, but I also don’t want you to stand all the time. The key is to change positions. Spend an hour sitting, spend an hour standing, walk to the bathroom, do some bodyweight squats or calf raises, drink more water so you have to go to the bathroom again, walk to your car, stretch your quads, stand on one leg. Anything to increase blood flow and incorporate movement into an otherwise motionless work day.
Split up your workout into two sessions. Instead of working out all in one go, split your workout into two sessions. Use one session to do some cardiovascular exercise (walking, biking, running, swimming, elliptical), and a second session to do muscle strengthening exercise. You are supposed to be doing both types of exercise anyways, so why not give yourself two opportunities to do so.
Get your daily steps. Most of our smartphones now track steps! Use it to your advantage since I know you have the phone on you. Check your average step count in the health data section, and aim to increase your daily steps by 1-2k. Once you can consistently hit a certain number, add another 1k steps. These steps should not be counted under your daily exercise.
Do your chores! As adults, the chores never end. Especially if you have kids and/or pets. Stay on top of your chores by vacuuming, mopping, doing the dishes, folding laundry, walking your pets, playing with you pets/kids, going to the store, cleaning the bathrooms, pulling weeds, wiping down tabletops and counters, and whatever else you feel is a chore. Doing your chores throughout the day provides intermittent physical activity that also leaves you feeling accomplished and content in your clean home.
Watching TV? Add in some stretching. Although stretching is a low intensity activity, it is still more active (and substantially more beneficial) than sitting. Holding positions or moving through your ranges of motion can not only increase daily physical activity, but will likely keep you feeling better day to day.
Find some active hobbies. Hobbies can be anything from painting to hiking, but finding something you like to do that requires moving around, or getting up from a seated position will be your best bet. Maybe you decide to start a garden or pottery-making. Both require more physical activity than just chillin’ on the couch, scrolling through your phone. Is there something you have been wanting to get into?
Opt for walking or biking if your destination is close enough. Instead of sitting in the car and taking two minutes to drive to your destination, use your own legs to take you there. Not everyone lives close enough to their destinations, but if you do, try it out to increase your daily activity.
Buy some used exercise equipment! I know exercise equipment can be expensive but I am a true fan of the Facebook marketplace. Exercise equipment is always being sold on the marketplace and generally, exercise equipment is pretty durable and can withstand a few owners. Having some exercise equipment on hand is helpful for getting random physical activity throughout the day. Can’t make a dedicated time to work out? Do a couple sets with your bands or dumbbells when you pass by it. Hang on your door jamb pull-up bar, do some band walks down the hall, swing your kettlebell. Any brief movement can be beneficial and done cumulatively throughout your day will decrease your time spent sitting.
There are many ways to fit more activity into your day and reduce the total time spent sitting, but the hardest part of making any change is the act of actually doing it. Nobody can make you do any of these things except for yourself. Finding an accountability buddy or hiring a fitness professional to help you with your goals can help tremendously. Start making some changes to your activity levels one action at a time. Pick a recommendation from the list and try to incorporate it for at least two days next week. Once you can stick to that habit for a dedicated amount of time (you choose what is right for you), add a day of the same habit, or add another habit to the mix, but try not to lose the original habit you made. If you miss a day or two, it is totally fine! Wake up fresh the next day and try again to keep your habits strong. Comment down below which habit you are going to add first and keep me posted on your progress. Need more accountability? Sign up for your fitness consultation by clicking the button below.
References
Katzmarzyk, P. T., Powell, K. E., Jakicic, J. M., Troiano, R. P., Piercy, K., Tennant, B., & 2018 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE* (2019). Sedentary Behavior and Health: Update from the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 51(6), 1227–1241. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001935
Owen, N., Sparling, P. B., Healy, G. N., Dunstan, D. W., & Matthews, C. E. (2010). Sedentary behavior: Emerging evidence for a new health risk. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 85(12), 1138–1141. https://doi.org/10.4065/mcp.2010.0444
Park, J. H., Moon, J. H., Kim, H. J., Kong, M. H., & Oh, Y. H. (2020). Sedentary lifestyle: Overview of updated evidence of potential health risks. Korean Journal of Family Medicine, 41(6), 365–373. https://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.20.0165
