The Link Between Sitting and Poor Health

Your parents were right, say researchers. Sitting around watching television and surfing the Internet is potentially dangerous for your health. But it is not the television or the Internet that is to blame, say experts. It is the sitting. A number of studies have now confirmed that sitting and poor health are linked in a subtle but insidious manner.

Sitting and Poor Health

In a recent study, researchers at the University of Queensland found a link between the amounts of time that subjects spent watching television and the levels of blood glucose and blood cholesterol in their bodies. This held true even if the individuals engaged in regular physical exercise and after such variables as obesity were considered. Further, the researchers found that an enzyme called lipase seems to be responsible for the link between sitting and poor health.

Lipoprotein lipase is the body's natural fat absorber that works only when one stands, says lead researcher Neville Owen. While standing, lipase promotes the absorption of fat and cholesterol into the muscles. When one sits, however, lipase "shuts off" which causes the fat to circulate in the blood until it comes to rest on ones' stomach or hips (as fat) or settles in the arteries leading to heart disease.

This study proves that sitting and poor health are linked and are, indeed, an "insidious" danger, according to Dr. Marc Hamilton.

Biomedical Research

Hamilton, professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri, recently told Ivanhoe News, "[c]hair time is an insidious hazard because people haven't been told it's a hazard." Hamilton has studied the fat-absorbing mechanism of lipase and said that, "if you can perform a behavior while sitting or standing, I would choose standing."

Our primitive ancestors certainly chose standing over sitting-their survival depended upon it. They were hunters/gatherers who were constantly on the move, searching for their next food source. Consequently, the body is designed for movement and, when sedentary, it does not function as it should, particularly as concerns the suppression of lipase.

There are now, says Hamilton, many studies that show the negative link between sitting and poor heath. Moreover, many of these studies indicate a heightened risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease for those who spend a disproportionate amount of time sitting.

In his own research study, Hamilton took plasma samples after his research subject ate a meal while sitting. Then he took a plasma sample after the same subject ate the same meal while standing. When the subject ate the meal while sitting, the plasma sample was cloudy (fat). When the subject at the meal while standing, the plasma sample was clear. This is dramatic proof that sitting and poor health are linked, claims Hamilton.

And it makes no difference how physically active you are at other times, say researchers. One may, in fact, exercise for 30 minutes every day and still be susceptible to developing high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity-if one spends much of the rest of the day sitting. (Hamilton's research indicated that those who sat showed a 22 percent reduction in their "good" cholesterol). Lipase "shuts off" when your body (in essence) shuts off, say researchers. In order to mobilize the fat-absorbing components of lipase, therefore, one needs to (at least) stand.

Health Benefits of Standing

Besides activating lipase, standing has a number of other advantages over sitting. Standing, say experts:

  • Improves circulation
  • Strengthens the muscles of the legs and the back
  • Aligns the body thus preventing pain
  • Burns more calories (an estimated 60 additional calories are burned per hour-simply by standing).
  • Reduces damage to the muscles, ligaments, and discs of the back. Due to poor posture issues, many individuals suffer from such back injuries during periods of "leisure sitting." (Source: Neck Solutions)

Tips for Absorbing Fat-the Lipase Way

The results of these studies-and the now proven mechanism of lipase-is bad news for the estimated 75 percent of people who sit during the majority of their workdays. But there are, say experts, some steps that one can take to maximize the fat-absorbing power of lipase.

Avoid the Chair

Dr. Hamilton recommends that one "avoid the chair" whenever possible. While watching your children play-stand.While watching television at home-stand.While talking on the phone-stand. Frequent standing, says Hamilton, will switch "on" lipase more often.

Take "Stand Breaks"

If you work at a desk job, Hamilton recommends that you take frequent breaks throughout the day to stand, stretch, and to walk. One can even eat lunch standing up. All of these behaviors activate lipase.

Instead of Emailing-Walk the Message

Professor Owen believes that work offices should be redesigned so that more standing and walking is encouraged. For instance, one should not email the coworker in the next office, says Owen. One should walk the message over. The copier and the fax machines should be in a room by themselves so that employees should walk to same as opposed to simply swiveling their chairs around.

Although it may be difficult to activate lipase if one has a sedentary job, the effort to implement these (and other) slight modifications to ones' workday will be well worth the effort. It may reduce your chances of developing heart disease by increasing your "good" cholesterol." It may reduce your chances of developing diabetes by reducing blood glucose levels. It may restore a "normal" weight to those who suffer from obesity, thereby diminishing the many diseases that obesity causes. The positive health effects of standing, experts say, may even save your life.