
Is Sitting a Lethal Activity? - robg
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html
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yummyfajitas
I really wish the NYT would stop attaching words like "lethal" and "toxic" to
activities which slightly increase one's risk of illness or injury.

(This is the second such article I've seen in the past few days:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.htm...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all)
)

~~~
robg
It has been reading a bit sensationalist. The brain cancer stuff too.

They are doing a nice job of though hyperlinking evidence to back up the
claims. Where else can I find similar work? Can I trust them more or less?

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pohl
I have a desk that Ikea used to make called the "Jerker" (I have no idea what
that translates to). The desk surface can be configured to be at any height
allowed by the array of holes for the bolts along the two vertical sidebars. I
had it configured as a standing station for several months while I was in a
less active part of my life. When my life changed and I became more active, I
configured it as a sitting desk.

There used to be a website where people would share pictures of their Jerker
setups. I wonder why, with such a loyal fan-base, they stopped making it.

 _Edit: the Wikipedia entry for Ikea offers this explanation: "Because IKEA is
a worldwide company working in several countries with several different
languages, sometimes the Nordic naming leads to problems where the word means
something completely different to the product. While exotic-sounding names
draw attention, e.g., in anglophone countries, a number of them call for a
snicker. Notable examples include "Jerker" desk, "Fukta" plant spray and
"Fartfull" workbench. Also, the most recent new product, Lyckhem (meaning
bliss)."_

Coincidentally, I got a relevant web-advertisiment this morning. I like the
idea of being able to easily reconfigure the desk more often:

<http://www.geekdesk.com/>

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tomjen3
It may be, but people are going to continue sitting.

Maybe instead of telling people how dangerous things are (knowing full well
that they will still do them) medical science should start working on a cure.

A pill with the same effects as an hour of exercise will do more to save lives
than penicillin.

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ck2
Between this _sitting-is-death_ and the _sugar-is-death_ piece, there should
be tens of millions of dead office workers who died before 60 in the past few
decades.

Since social security is in trouble, I'd venture a guess there are plenty of
people making it to 65?

Instead of torturing lab rats they should give us quantitative factual numbers
about how many office workers are now dead from sugar and sitting.

I'm not saying these studies are wrong, I am saying someone is either
exaggerating or not providing what should be easy real-world examples.

~~~
robg
Causation doesn't reveal her bosom willingly.

Answer why Japan lives two years long on average, than the US and the UK, and
you could help a lot of people:

[http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-
wdi&met=sp_dyn_le...](http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-
wdi&met=sp_dyn_le00_in&idim=country:USA&dl=en&hl=en&q=life+expectancy+chart#met=sp_dyn_le00_in&idim=country:USA:GBR:ARE:JPN:CHN:IND:BRA)

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neanderdog
Living is a lethal activity.. always ends in death

