SCIENCE! or Science?! Is Sitting REALLY Killing You?

Have y’all heard the news? Sitting all day at work is killing you. Or is it?

First up, a video. Someone get the lights.

Well, that was depressing. Who else jumped out of their seat while watching this and danced around a little? Just me?! Figures, I can be such a lemming.

Next up, the rebuttal:

Adverse health outcomes including cancer and cardiovascular disease can’t be blamed on prolonged occupational sitting, at least not until additional clarifying research is done, a systematic review concluded.

WHAT?! The science hasn’t been proven, yet it’s all some folks can think about/discuss when sitting for long hours at work? Who’s surprised? (I’m so jaded when it comes to NEW! discoveries, that the whole thing gives me a meh…when I’m not jumping from my seat to dance, that is.)

I have to confess, when I first started reading these articles proclaiming my premature death, my thoughts went to my dearly departed grandmother who lived the most sedentary sitting life of any one I’ve ever known and she lived well into her 80s. On top of that she was a smoker and drinker. Probably good genes, but still. Made no sense to me to throw all of us sitters together in the YOU’RE GONNA DIE FROM SITTING pile.

I think the takeaway is this: each new health hazard “proven” by science needs to be viewed with a grain of salt and a little research. Death headlines sell, yo.

[Tweet “Too much sitting will kill you? SCIENCE! or Science?!”]

What we should be concentrating on are the real, scary, WTH? issues like this one: Sitting to poop? Science says it’s bad for your health.

Yep, consider yourself ahead of the loop when you start seeing the deadly headlines of the health hazards of pooping sitting down like a civilized person.

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tasha

Wednesday 25th of March 2015

I remember feeling the exact same way when I'd first read about how much safer it was to extend rear facing for toddlers. I think I rolled my eyes and all....however, guess what I ended up doing? yep, extended rear facing. lol I guess the difference is that erf has been proven but extended sitting is still up in the air....or in a seat!!!! :)

Patti Tucker

If you could have seen the "car seat" we used 30 years ago, your head would pop off! It was the illusion of safety. When I first heard about rear facing for babies/toddlers, then read the proof, I was/am a HUGE supporter. I think the sitting "science" might have some merit, because we were meant to move, but to use hyperbole and say it's killing us, well, I better get to eating every Ding Dong I can get my hands on, cause I'm a goner.

Katrina

I found these today. Thought they were relevant here. mindbodygreen.com/0-17967/why-exercise-wont-counteract-the-effects-of-sitting-all-day.html physiologyonline.physiology.org/content/29/5/300 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3329818/ They are a lot of reading, but science is usually like that. :)

Axiesdad aka Bob

Friday 20th of March 2015

One of my most recent reads. He has a lot to say about all of the "science" you read about in the popular press. "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre

Saturday 21st of March 2015

SCIENCE! lol. There is too much junk masquerading as science these days. Not to say that I'm not reading the studies and keeping an open mind, it's just more about the hype than the facts on some issues (btw: i fixed your link as it was all code before).

Christina

We need to move to keep our lymphatic system moving. It doesn't have a pump system like our circulatory system does with the heart. Since I have lipedema / lymphedema, it's important for me to move often during the day as sitting makes the lymph fluid settle. Ever wonder why your feet swell if you've been sitting all day? I don't know if it will kill us, but our bodies were made to move. Just my 2 cents on the subject.

I agree that we could benefit from moving more, I'm just not sold on the idea that sitting is killing me.

Julie

I do think I personally need to try to move/exercise more. But, yeah, I don't think I can get on board with not sitting to go to the bathroom nonsense.

I remind myself all day to GET UP! too. I'm with you on the pooping issue (and thanks for the lol!).