So we’ve all heard it by now, “sitting is the new smoking”. But is it really?

The short answer is… well… there isn’t a short answer.

Let’s look at smoking: it is KNOWN to cause cancer.  In studies that compare smokers to non-smokers, the risk of developing lung cancer, and dying from it, is staggering.  One study from 2006 shows that non-smoking men have about a 0.2% chance of dying from lung cancer, versus 15.9% for lifetime smokers.  That chance increases to a whopping 24.4% for those who regularly smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day.  Smoking physically contaminates your lungs, and impairs their ability to function.  It also has further health risks such as immuno-suppression, decreased bone density, heart disease and more.  People die from smoking. Period.

But do people DIE from sitting too much? Do YOU know anyone who has died from sitting? You wouldn’t think so, certainly not directly.  So to compare mortality rates of sitting as a risk factor to smoking seems like a bit of a stretch.

That being said, government regulations that restrict advertising of tobacco products, as well as limiting the areas in which smoking is allowed, has successfully decreased the popularity of smoking.  Gone are the days of the iconic Marlboro man.  Smoking in the US has dropped in popularity from almost 21% in 2005 to under 15% in 2015.  With current popular trends towards ‘clean’ eating, and other healthy lifestyle choices, smokers may even be looked down on.  However, sitting, particularly in the workplace, is steadily on the rise.  More and more people are working from their office chair.  Our reliance on computers and the internet for the success of our workplaces is only increasing the number of jobs in the IT field.  And most IT jobs can be done from the comfort of a cubicle.  Many marketing jobs are turning to the ever-expanding universe of social media, where actions, as well as measures of success, such as “online presence”, are done in front of a screen.  Nowadays, parents don’t even need to leave the house or the comfort of their couch to order their groceries, or their kids’ clothes anymore.

So if we are comparing the number of people who have smoking as a risk factor, versus the number of people who have sitting as a risk factor, then it certainly appears that sitting is well on its way to being the new smoking.  In short, the number of smokers is slowly dwindling, but the number of people who sit for hours a day is continually increasing, and sometime soon it will take over as the most prevalent risk factor.

So what are we dealing with? Let’s look at what health effects extended sitting can have:

  1. Increased Blood Pressure
  2. High Blood Sugar
  3. Excess Belly Fat
  4. Abnormal Cholesterol Levels
  5. Increased Risk of Death from Cardiovascular Disease
  6. Increased Risk of Death from Cancer

Basically, sitting for more than 2 hours at a time increases your chance of dying from ANYTHING other than old-age.  One study compared people who sat in front of a TV (or other screen-based entertainment) for less than 2h per day, to people who did so more than 4h per day, and found that those with the higher sitting time had an almost 50% increased risk of death from ANY cause!  That IS worse than smoking!

What’s worse, is that just like smoking, there isn’t any clear way to counteract sitting still for too long!  Current research shows that spending a few hours a week at the gym or even doing any kind of moderate to vigorous activity doesn’t seem to significantly offset the risks!

So what are we supposed to do? Stand? Well, standing all day long also has its own risks, such as sore feet, swelling of the legs, varicose veins, general muscular fatigue, low back pain, and stiffness in the neck and shoulders.  So, while these health risks have significantly lower morbidity rates, standing all day doesn’t seem like a grand solution either.

Dr Diana De Carvalho has done several studies on the health effects of prolonged sitting, and suggests that the latest shift in workspace design towards accommodating standing positions, while still allowing sitting, may be the best option.  The introduction of sit-stand workstations has potential to reduce the harmful effects of prolonged sitting by allowing frequent rotation between sitting and standing postures.  And it is this frequent rotation that appears to have the most positive health outcomes.

So really, based on this latest research, it appears that our complex human bodies, that are designed to move in many varied ways, seems to be best maintained by continually moving.  So, whatever it takes, your fitbit reminders, your alarm clock, or even just building postural rotation into your daily routine, until we have better research, it looks like you had better just get up and move!

REFERENCES:

  1. High Cumulative Risk of Lung Cancer Death among Smokers and Nonsmokers in Central and Eastern Europe:  https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/164/12/1233/76936/High-Cumulative-Risk-of-Lung-Cancer-Death-among
  2. Health Effects of Smoking: https://www.verywell.com/health-effects-of-smoking-2248973
  3. Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States:  https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/
  4. What are the risks of sitting too much?: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/sitting/faq-20058005
  5. Is Standing the Solution to Sedentary Office Work?:  http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1064804615585412
  6. Working in a Standing Position: Basic Information:  https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/standing/standing_basic.html