By Rebecca Roach
Maybe highway men and Adam Ant had something with their rebel call of ‘Stand and Deliver’?
Maybe highway men and Adam Ant had something with their rebel call of ‘Stand and Deliver’? Whilst I am not suggesting your don a pair of over knee boots (although I am not stopping you if that is your thing – just watch the heel height) and I am certainly not telling you to go out and hold people up. No. What I am saying is take advice from the words. If you STAND (or be less sedentary) more you are likely to DELIVER more at work, and gain more health benefits. So win-win.
You may think you like your bed/sleep, but I bet there is something you do more than that? And that is spending a large amount of time on your derrière. The frightening thing is that something you are doing on a daily basis, probably without much thought could have a serious impact on your health (and possibly your wealth). Many adults in the UK spend more than 7 hours a day on their behind and this typically increases with age to 10+ hours.
Sat At A Desk?
One idea if you find yourself sat at a desk for long periods of time is to get yourself moving with a compact elliptical. So you really can get fit while you sit, they are compact so they neatly store away but also will fit under your desk so can get yourself moving no matter your workload on any given day. So being tied to your desk no longer means you have to remain sedentary.
Professor Stuart Biddle, who led the national guidelines on reducing sitting, says people who take regular exercise may still be broadly sedentary.
“If someone goes to the gym or walks for 30 to 45 minutes a day, but sits down the rest of the time, then they are still described as having a ‘sedentary lifestyle. All-day movement is now seen as being just as important for the maintenance of good health as traditional exercise.”
As humans, we were not created to sit for such long hours, and until relatively recently it was not an issue due to jobs having more of a manual emphasis. Think back 200-300 years prior to the industrial revolution and the majority of men would have worked on the land, and the women would have had heavy duty work to do at home – both much more physical than today. Things became a little easier for some with the industrial revolution, but still more time on the feet and also less transportation, so more walking. These days it is estimated that half of all jobs in western society are computer-based. Working on a computer all day is very sedentary activity and in addition to that add on time spent commuting, plus time watching TV/cinema/theatre. Plus, research has suggested that remaining seated for too long is bad for your health, regardless of how much exercise you do. Not a pretty picture, and maybe a light is switching onto why there are more people carrying a lot more weight these days. Keep Moving For Good Health is key and we have plenty of tips on how to become more active.
We are going to look at possible health implications of all this sitting, and then move onto the more positive solution of finding ways to be more active throughout the day.
Keep Moving For Good Health – Issues that may be associated with excessive sitting*
- Obesity
- Type ii diabetes
- Mental health problems
- Musculoskeletal conditions – such as lower back pain
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Dementia
- Some type of cancer
- Even premature death
The first two points are linked to a slowing of metabolism which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat.
* Please note that most of the above evidence is based on observational studies, which have only shown an association between sitting and ill health but not a direct cause. It is not yet known if there are different implications for those overweight and obese then to those not. As of yet, there are no specific guidelines on how much is too much.
According to the NHS, one of the largest pieces of research to date on the subject – involving almost 800,000 people – found that, compared with those who sat the least, people who sat the longest had a:
- 112% increase in risk of diabetes
- 147% increase in cardiovascular events
- 90% increase in death caused by cardiovascular events
- 49% increase in death from any cause
The importance of physical activity for health was identified over 50 years ago. During the 1950s, comparisons of bus drivers with more physically active bus conductors and office-based telephonists with more physically active postmen demonstrated lower rates of coronary heart disease and smaller uniform sizes in the more physically active occupations.
According to a UK Government report, physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality (accounting for 6% of deaths globally). This follows high blood pressure (13%), tobacco use (9%) and high blood glucose (6%). Overweight and obesity are responsible for 5% of global mortality.
In the same report it goes on to explore the cost of inactivity.
The estimated direct cost of physical inactivity to the NHS across the UK is £1.06 billion. This is based upon five conditions specifically linked to inactivity, namely coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, colorectal cancer and breast cancer. This figure represents a conservative estimate, since it excludes the costs of other diseases and health problems, such as osteoporosis and falls, which affect many older people.
Inactivity also creates costs for the wider economy, through sickness absence and through the premature death of productive individuals. It also increases costs for individuals and for their carers. In England, the costs of lost productivity have been estimated at £5.5 billion per year from sickness absence and £1 billion per year from the premature death of people of working age. So there really is some great proof to keep moving for good health.
# Keep Moving For Good Health