As an Occupational Therapist, I have always strived to maintain good sitting posture, be aware of my office ergonomics and live a healthy and active lifestyle. So it is somewhat alarming to realise that 30 minutes of exercise every day is not enough to counter-act the effects of sitting all day at work.
From a personal perspective I was quietly excited to think that there was something else that I could do for my health rather than face that run that I dread every afternoon, but from a professional perspective I realised that it would be a challenge to change the habits and expectation of what a typical office worker should do all day…….SIT.
Researchers have linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns, including obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels.
Research shows that reduced sitting could have a considerable impact on cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
The health burden associated with insufficient physical activity is likely to far exceed the health burden of associated computer-related musculo-skeletal disorders.
Humans weren’t designed to be so immobile – just think back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors. As an Occupational Therapist I am well aware of the benefit and very proactive in my support for ergonomic chairs in the work place (and the reasons for those will fill another blog another time!) – but these ergonomic improvements are not enough to off-set the health issues associated with prolonged sitting.
So, how long should we stand at work?