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Various studies have indicated that too much sitting is linked to a
host of office health related-issues, including increased risk of heart
disease and Type 2 diabetes. And in many ways, this makes perfect sense –
the human body is designed for physical activity, so it follows that
too much sitting would be something to avoid.
Unfortunately, for
many of us the course of the working day involves a lot of sitting. If
we weren’t at work during the day, it’s unlikely that we’d spend
anything like the amount of sedentary time an office worker does. We’d
be up and about taking the dog for a walk, going shopping, maybe even
going for a run or a swim. Sure, there would be some time where we’d sit
down to collect our thoughts and have a cup of tea – but the sitting
and the other physical activity would be more broken up.
And
part of the problem, according to experts, is that the effects of too
much sitting down all day can’t be offset by bursts of exercise in the
evening. Dr Emma Wilmot from the Diabetes Group at the University of
Leicester is quoted on the BBC’s health news pages, summing up the
problem like this:
People convince themselves they are living a
healthy lifestyle, doing their 30 minutes of exercise a day. But they
need to think about the other 23.5 hours.
The point being made
here is that those who get the half hour of exercise are likely to have
better eventual health outcomes than those who don’t – but that more
activity built into the day would benefit us all.
Office Health, Work and Physical Activity
Obviously,
if you have a desk job you’re going to be required to spend the greater
part of the day sitting down. That’s just a fact.
Or is it?
There
are ways of getting at least some activity – walking across to the
water cooler now and then, standing up to take telephone calls, taking a
brisk walk at lunch, and so on. But in addition to that, there are now
some pioneering and cutting edge ways that people are using to reduce
sitting time while still at their desk.
One of the new ways of
working is to use a dual-level desk, allowing the worker to alternate
between a sitting and standing position throughout the day. And there’s
even a treadmill desk available, allowing people to do some walking
while they work.
Taking a holistic approach to health means
looking at the opportunities to be healthier in everything we do. And
while we may not (yet) live in the age of dual-level or treadmill desks,
there are still plenty of opportunities throughout the day to get up,
stretch or even do some ‘deskercise’. As One of the health experts who
conducted a study on this topic says, a god slogan would be
Stand up, move more, more often.
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