
Less time sitting 'extends life' - equilibrium
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18767278
======
rlpb
"This research only suggests a causal association..."

This wipes out the assumptions that most people seem to be making.

People who are active sit down less. People who are active have a longer life
expectancy. So be active. QED.

Nothing about this says that if you change your behaviour by sitting down
less, you will live longer. Even TFA acknowledges this.

Conclusion: this article tells us nothing new, and nothing that we wouldn't
have assumed already.

~~~
pessimizer
Why waste time doing a study with an unpredictable result? If you don't know
the answer ahead of time, you may not be able to find a soundbite worthy
correlation even after fishing with every statistical trick you know, and that
= time and effort put in without adding any points to your score (or impact
level or whatever.)

Oh, wait. Science is why. That's an old school attitude, don't you think? My
study about how a college education _may_ lighten your skin is hotly
anticipated. I wonder how it'll turn out?

------
hopeless
There seems to be a growing backlash against sitting and I for one am not
going to stand for it!

Actually, just kidding but couldn't resist. I'm leaving my job (in part)
because I can feel the negative effects of sitting for 8hrs a day + ~1.5hrs in
the car. At the end of the day I feel stiff, tired, and, not breathless, but
definitely reduced lung capacity. I've had a standing desk at home for the
past 2 years and I see no reason why I should tolerate worse conditions at
work than I have at home.

As I mentioned in a comment below, I think standing desks will be the next
must-have perk that great companies offer. It will certainly be on my must-
have list if I ever return to full-time employment.

Edited to add >> even if you exercise, that may not be enough the negate the
effects of sitting: [http://mashable.com/2012/04/23/more-you-sit-sooner-die-
video...](http://mashable.com/2012/04/23/more-you-sit-sooner-die-video/)
and...

"Sitting, it would seem, is an independent pathology. 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." \--
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.h...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html)

------
pessimizer
"It is not clear how many of these people were less healthy to begin with and
who, therefore, might spend more time sitting down as a result."

Next in mass market health news: Eating at McDonalds makes you poorer, and
playing basketball makes you taller.

------
obtu
The BBC article touches on this, but the study does not support this
conclusion (or any conclusion that could drive public health policy, really).
It is lacking any accounting for confounding factors, like physical exercise,
diet, health, or income.

------
krollew
"Limiting the time we spend sitting to just three hours a day could add an
extra two years to our life expectancy, scientists calculate." -- I guess it's
poor article. I think it depends on how much I sit per day, isn't it?

On the other hand a agree that people sit too much - they need more doing
sports, walking, etc. Together with good diet it makes life not only longer,
but happier too.

------
reasonattlm
Some commentaries on this sort of research:

[http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/04/sitting-time-
corr...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/04/sitting-time-correlating-
with-mortality-independently-of-exercise.php)

This is not the first study to propose this correlation, of course. There are
a range of others from past years. One has to wonder what the mechanism is
here, however - my suspicion is that it actually does all come back down to
the level of physical activity in the end. In these massive studies the level
of exercise and activity is reported by the participants. A person who stands
and works is going to be somewhat more active than a person who sits and
works, even though that time may not be categorized as physical activity, or
reported differently.

Exercise is much like calorie restriction - the effects are so large in
comparison to other factors we have easy access to that they are likely to
creep into any study.

[http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/06/another-study-
sug...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/06/another-study-suggests-
that-sedentary-behavior-adds-up.php)

At some point in the future we won't really have to worry too much about
things like this, as medical science will progress to the point at which
maintenance of long-term health regardless of lifestyle becomes as much a non-
issue as protection from the infectious diseases that plagued our ancestors.
But we have a way to go towards that goal, and in the meanwhile it doesn't
seem wise to sit back and assume that biotechnology will rescue you from
casual negligence. Maybe you'll get lucky, but for those of us in the middle
stages of life it looks uncertain indeed. The coming decades are on the cusp
between the era of aging as a fact of life and aging as a treatable and
reversible medical condition - a lot of deaths will fall on the wrong side of
that line, so why not try to shift the odds on whether yours is one of them?
Every year gained is big deal in this sort of situation.

------
tluyben2
Why are the targets unfeasible?

~~~
spectrum
Because in our society most of the people sit when they commute, sit when they
work and sit when they eat and sit when they relax.

~~~
tluyben2
Yes, but isn't that easy to change? I work behind I computer 10 hours/day, 7
days/week but sit less than 3 of those. I changed that overnight and advice my
employees to do the same thing (most do). Why cannot everyone do that? What's
the 'unfeasible' about it? Only that people are lazy, don't want it or is
there another reason?

~~~
graeme
It's hard for a lot of employees who don't have a manager on board. I think
that's getting easier though, as standing it catching on.

It's also hard for some people to afford a good standing work station. I just
use a bookshelf, but it depends on your computer.

~~~
tluyben2
True. I just put an old fashion chair on the table. It works fine; it's
exactly the right height. Never have an back aches/complaints anymore and no
RSI. I'm thinner + fitter as well. So even if I don't get years added to my
life, it cannot be too unhealthy :) And easy to accomplish. Our office looks
weird now with all these people standing though.

------
killyourheros
There are a lot of people who do more sitting, they call it relaxing, than 3
hours a day and manage to live very long lives. Physical activity is always
good but sitting down is not unhealthy.

~~~
tluyben2
Yes? There are plenty (I know at least 7 in my family) people who smoke every
day for 80+ years and live without disease before dying their sleep. There are
a lot of people who do a lot of sitting and manage to live very short lives.

There might or might not be a health issue with sitting down; for me my
personal experience is compelling; I feel YEARS younger since I don't sit more
than a few hours a day, relaxing or otherwise. This _next_ to other physical
activity. It makes sense to me as well (we didn't used to sit a lot before
1900, so evolution didn't equip our bodies to do so for 8+ hours/day), but
that's not really proof/evidence of anything per se, just as 'a lot of people
who sit a lot live long' and 'a lot of people who sit a lot die young' are not
;)

I think stress levels are involved too ; sitting cramped / stressed is not
very good for you I believe while that is the reality for many 'sitting
professionals' ; walking helps reduce stress often so that is a part as well I
believe.

~~~
FrojoS
Interesting. Thanks for sharing your personal observation. Do you have a
standing desk or a new job? For how many years do you sit less now?

~~~
tluyben2
I have a chair on a table where the sit part of the chair + laptop is exactly
the right height for my arms. And I have been doing this for about 2.5 years
now. Even wrote a book about it (which I never finished :) I'll revisit it I
guess.

~~~
FrojoS
Sounds interesting! Can you show a picture maybe?

If I get you right, you use your chair as a desk. That chair is sitting on a
normal desk, so combined the height is appropriate for working while standing.
Right?

~~~
tluyben2
This is my home setup <https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6134596/20120530_160149.jpg>

When i'm writing stuff I'm usually replacing the laptop by a writing pad.

~~~
FrojoS
Thanks. That really is simple (and beautiful)!

I wonder though, isn't it hard for your wrist after a while when you can't
rest your lower arm on the desk?

~~~
tluyben2
I have a MBP; I rest my wrists on the huge slabs under the keyboard which
works absolutely fine. If you computer doesn't have that, then yes, I would
make a real table on the table so I can rest my wrists.

