Consider the impact of sedentary lifestyles
Desk jobs may increase cancer risk – Employees who work for 10 years or more behind a desk may have an increased risk of developing bowel cancer according to a study conducted by Western Australian Institute for Medical Research and the University of Western Australia.
Findings of the research suggested sedentary behavior by professionals such as accountants or computing professionals may increase the risk of cancers of the distal colon and rectum. The research categorized jobs into five groups including sedentary to light activity such as teachers, medium activity such as nurses, heavy activity such as farmers, and very heavy activity such as miners. The two-year study involving men and women ages 40-79 with data collected on lifestyle, physical activity and job history. Compared with employees who did not spend any time in a sedentary occupation, study participants who spent 10 or more years working at a desk had almost twice the risk of distal colon cancer and a 44 per cent increased risk of rectal cancer, the study found.
"Sedentary behaviour appears to be an important risk factor for many chronic diseases," according to the lead researcher, Terry Boyle. "It's important that office workers try to stand and take a break from sitting every 30 minutes, and do things like get up from their chairs and walk down the corridor to talk to colleagues rather than sending an email or making a phone call."
Source: “Long-Term Sedentary Work and the Risk of Subsite-specific Colorectal Cancer,” Terry Boyle, Lin Fritschi, Jane Heyworth, Fiona Bull, American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 173, May 15, 2011.
The impact of sitting too much
Is sitting a lethal activity? – An emerging field of research that studies the impact of inactivity continues to document harmful metabolic effects. “For most of us, when we’re awake and not moving, we’re sitting … Electrical activity in the muscles drops … calorie-burning rate immediately plunges to about one per minute … insulin effectiveness drops within a single day … and the enzymes responsible for breaking down lipids and triglycerides plunge,” according to Marc Hamilton, an inactivity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym. It is bad whether you are morbidly obese or marathon-runner thin. Excessive sitting is a lethal activity,” says Dr. James Levine, a researcher at Mayo Clinic.
Source: “What’s The Most Unhealthy Thing You Do Every Day?, James Vlahos reporting on the field of inactivity research, New York Times Magazine, April 17, 2011.
Prolonged sitting: major clinical and public health concerns – Researchers studying the increasing trend and impact of prolonged sitting have elevated concerns about long term global health risks. They point out that “given the increasing availability and popularity of personal computers, TV, automation of chores at home, transportation trends, and further inventions in the future,” the impact on mortality, chronic disease, metabolic syndrome risk factors and obesity are significant.
The most direct effect of sitting idle produces negative effects on fast-acting cellular processes in skeletal muscles or tissues regulating risk factors like plasma triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. Prolonged sitting also means low energy expenditure – leading to weight gain and other issues.
Source: “Role of Low Energy Expenditure and Sitting in Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease,” Hamilton et al, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, Diabetes, Vol. 56, November 2007, American Diabetes Association.
Frequent physical movement is key
Sitting too much is bad for you – One of the most respected researchers in the area of physical activity is urging employers to provide more opportunities to be physically active during the workday. Dr. Steven Blair, an exercise scientist, says that far too many people sit far too much, and “physical activity is probably the biggest public health problem” we have in the U.S. Employers should use their creativity to provide opportunities for physical activity because of the benefits it can bring.
“Being physically active is about as close as we can come to a magic treatment to avoid and prevent chronic disease.”
Source: Interview with Steven Blair (pdf), PED, University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health, WELCOA News & Views, © 2010 Wellness Council of America.
Be creative about standing
Short breaks make a difference – Breaks in sedentary time yield beneficial associations with metabolic risk according to a study published in Diabetes Care. Researchers found that those who took a number of breaks in sedentary time over the course of the day – like standing and moving a bit – experienced positive changes in several metabolic variables such as triglycerides, blood pressure and waist circumference.
The study suggests that even minimal activity such as standing rather than sitting, can have an impact on energy expenditures and resistance to fat gain.
Source: Genevieve Healy et al, Cancer Prevention Research Centre, School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia. Published in Diabetes Care, Volume 31, No. 4, April 2008, © 2008 the American Diabetes Association.