Sitting takes toll on body, scientists find

Sitting takes toll on body, scientists find

www.cbc.ca

The bodies of even the most physically active Canadians take a physiological hit from sitting for hours, say scientists who warn about health effects of an increasingly sedentary society and prescribe some standing advice.

Canadian researchers are part of a pioneer field of study looking at the effects that sitting has on the body. At a lab in Ottawa, scientists are observing children as they watch TV, monitoring their pressure and oxygen consumption. The scientists want to see how sedentary time, such as sitting all day at school and then channel surfing at night, harms children's health.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is the only source I could find.

I just saw a report on my local US news channel about this. I thought it had some merit here for a few reasons.

Universal health care coming up and the government already trying to limit people doing things like tanning because it cuts into the programs bottom line, this story sounds like more fluff that they will use to impose more ridiculous guidelines and rules.

www.cbc.ca
(visit the link for the full news article)

All of this makes me extremely upset. The tanning bed argument from a few months back that they used to impose the 10% tax on them was just the start. UV rays are bad if you go to an extreme, but then again drinking water can kill you if you chug enough of it at once. That doesn't mean you tax it and label it harmful.

Common sense has gone out the window these days. Yes sitting for 10 hours a day isn't good. What they fail to mention is the fact that for it to be as harmful as they make it sound, you can't move around.

Anyone who's gone 2 hours driving without stopping knows you feel kinked up when you do get out and stretch. You also know if you sit down on your couch for 2 hours and watch a movie that you don't feel the same way. That's because you move and shift position even if it's just slightly.

Your body, when allowed to, will adjust and negate any of the "conditions" their report finds.

To me this sounds like a glimpse of things to come. The question is how far will they go to advocate and enforce healthy lifestyles on us? I'm not saying that it's wrong to want people to be healthier. It's wrong to define how healthy someone has to be.

I know people are going to jump on me for some things. But before you do, just know that it started with cigarettes, and non smokers cheered. Then it was the tanning beds, and pasty people snickered. It will end when they ban all products with sugar because hell hath no fury like a woman without her chocolate.

what about lying down, i like to lie on a hard floor when watching tv.

when I was in college I was a cashier and I would stand in basically the same spot for 7 and a half hours. that bs gave me varicose veins in my feet and I was a 20 year old male. so I say standing is bad too. guess I'll just lay in bed all day every day and play XBox. oh wait I cant because I have to work and that would require sitting or standing. we are all doomed!!

Originally posted by MR BOB
what about lying down, i like to lie on a hard floor when watching tv.

MR BOB.....

Where's your TV.....

.....on the ceiling?

All the government wants us to do is....
Bend over and take it

reply to post by Maybe...maybe not


no lol. i kinda lie at an angle to the tv, then turn my head.

yes i am watching tv sideways but you get used to it

They should have called it "working ..." .

reply to post by Totalstranger


Same here. I worked for years standing all day on concrete floors. I too have varicose veins on top of constant foot pain now.


Like I said, anything in excess is harmful. On the same token living is harmful to health too, and doing that for too long will cause death.

In the end quality of life is the only thing that matters. No, I don't mean what you or anyone else considers "quality of life" because it's different for everyone. It's a matter of personal opinion.

You can live in a dark chamber with near pure oxygen being pumped in, fed IV nutrients, and never be exposed to things that compromise your health. In the end, can you really call that "living?"

Some people are happy being obese. Some people are happy smoking. Some people are happy living fast and loose lifestyles. Some are not.

It's high time we stopped as a society forcing our ideals on everyone. Live and let live. For those who want to claim they have the right to not be exposed to others lifestyles (this goes for smoking too) I agree. It's called "walking away." You don't like being around smoke? Go to a non smoking restaurant.

Btw. I'm a non smoker who is saying this.

have these scientists got nothing useful to do but watch people sitting?.. i bet they get a fat wage aswell

reply to post by fatdad


Funny thing was the video interview I saw on this, while giving the interview, the scientist was sitting down. Isn't it ironic.. don't ya think..

ARRRGHHH ALANIS MORISSETTE!! /slits wrists

I think some of you missed an important part. You can sit as long as you want, but as long as you regularly stand up you mitigate the effects.

That is good for me since I prefer laying down to sitting, but when I sit I just have to get up about every 30 minutes because I have ADHD.

There's also some research out there showing that a segment of the population seems more hardwired to WANT to sit than others.

There's probably research out there showing anything you want to see or find, because it's only when we look do we see anything anyway. Look in the right place, you'll find what you want to find.

Originally posted by Misoir
I think some of you missed an important part. You can sit as long as you want, but as long as you regularly stand up you mitigate the effects.

That is good for me since I prefer laying down to sitting, but when I sit I just have to get up about every 30 minutes because I have ADHD.

And yet next someone will try to medicate you to make you sit still! ADHD can sometimes be a good thing, in certain ways your brain is just really diversified

Tell me about it!

Since I joined the site I've gotten 'ATS butt'!

hehehe

peace

"It is possible to mitigate the damage with simple steps such as standing up regularly. The body "responds to very small interruptions in that sitting," Tremblay said. "And this is where the promise might be."
_______________________________________________

I wonder what he would think about my 41 years in a wheelchair and cannot stand up, let alone regularly.

Since he didn't mention me, is this discrimination toward the physically disabled?

Yes I did pay attention to the point they made when they said that regularly standing and moving could negate the effects. My question is why even have this study then?

It's like doing a study on breathing. "Holding your breath for 10 minutes can cause death, but taking in a lung full of oxygen every now and then can mitigate the effects" is basically all the sense this study makes.

I'm telling you, every time you see one of these stupid common sense studies come out, the government uses it as a launching point to start an initiative to save the people and make a quick buck off of it at the same time.

Just thinking of this made me come up with my new signature.. "Global warming can be proven, just look how shallow the gene pool has gotten."

Is meditating included in as sitting?

How can anything not be considered a health risk? Everything is a health risk.