My War on Sitting Disease

Plan to get moving at the annual Rotary 5K run/walk
coming up May 2 in Fosston. More information at fosston.com

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a piece on Sitting Disease and it generated quite a bit of interest, understandably so, in light of the large number of  us who spend the bulk of our days behind a desk.

So what is Sitting Disease? The term refers to the impact that excessive sitting has on our bodies. It is believed to negatively effect our metabolism and is linked to several serious health risks including obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and depression. [James Levine, MD, PhD] Sedentary lifestyles are also believed to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. “For people who sit most of the day, their risk of heart attack is about the same as smoking.” [Martha Grogan, Cardiologist, Mayo Clinic]

For those of us with desk jobs (or who lead otherwise sedentary lifestyles) this is not good news. In my research on the topic, one of the things that surprised me the most is that simply working out every day cannot mitigate the damage caused by sitting for several hours a day. You would think that a good daily workout would solve the problem. Not so.

The cumulative effect of sitting for so many hours simply counts up and has negative consequences. Not to say that working out every day isn't a good thing. A daily workout is definitely a good thing, but what the experts are telling us is that we have to stand up and move around more frequently throughout the day. In other words, don't sit for several hours straight. Once every hour or so, get up and move around.

Dr. Charles (Chuck) Winjum, could not agree more. "My message has always been our bodies are meant  to move, so sitting is very much contrary to that belief," Winjum said. "We should all look for simple ways to get up and stay up.  I wear a Fitbit just so I can keep track of my steps.  I walk to get answers instead of calling."

Since my initial research on Sitting Disease, I have personally made an effort to stand and move more throughout the day. Those who read the last article will remember that I recently purchased a mount for my desk that allows me to stand while I work. Consequently, I am standing at my desk the majority of the time. I've also started using a phone that allows me to be mobile. I walk while having phone conversations and have found that it actually helps the conversation (and my thoughts) to flow more easily.

Dr. Gabe Wiener knows the troubles I've had with my neck and shoulders over the last couple of years, and endorses the use of "sit-to-stand" workstations, as well as standing and moving more, citing the fact that "sitting is a big stress on our bodies." He goes on to say that "we sit a lot more in today's world than ever before.  Our bodies are made to move and without movement adverse health problems are the result.   Sit to stand workstations are helpful to reduce the stress of the work day on our bodies."

What else can we do? According to Dr. Wiener, "to really counteract the stress of sitting during the day, people need to walk and utilize weight bearing exercises." With that in mind, I've made a personal goal to walk 10,000 steps each day. My iPhone 6 has an integrated health app that tracks steps, if you turn it on.

Once I started using my phone health tracker, I was disappointed to find that the situation was even worse than I realized; I was walking only about 1,000 steps each day in my normal activities. I have since increased my daily average to almost 9,000. Dr. Winjum referenced use of the Fitbit, a device that works with more than 150 different smart phones, and helps to track several health goals, in addition to steps. A good old-fashioned pedometer can also be an invaluable tool.

What are you doing to combat Sitting Disease? I invite you to share your stories with me using the comment box below!