Sitting: Is it Really the New Smoking?

We all know that walking has long been touted as the best exercise for maintaining overall fitness and building endurance. Walking is free, easy on the joints and can be enjoyed with a partner. But did you know that walking has an archenemy? At least according to ground-breaking research it does. And its name is sitting.

And we can take that one step further. Sitting has its own archenemy. His name is Dr. James Levine, a British doctor and scientist who is responsible for branding sitting as “the new smoking”.

Dr. Levine has been studying the science of sitting for 25 years, and according to him, sitting down is killing you with everything from heart disease to diabetes and brittle bones. His book, “Get Up! Why Your Chair is Killing You” outlines with scientific data how the seemingly innocent chair can be an early precursor to the grave. In one study, adults who spent less than two hours a day watching TV were compared against those who put in more than four hours of TV time. The latter group exhibited:

• An approximate 50% increased risk of death from all causes
• An approximate 125% increased risk of chest pain (angina) or heart attack

These increases were separate from other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, smoking and diet.

Because of these findings, and many others with similar results, Dr. Levine’s mission has become to educate the masses with the dangers of parking your posterior in one place for too long.

What exactly is “too long”? Dr. Levine maintains: “The bottom-line is that if you’ve been sitting for an hour, you’ve been sitting for too long. We should all be up at least 10 minutes out of every hour.” Dr. Levine himself has been walking on a treadmill while he works for years, and advocates the use of “work-fit” stations that allow employees the option to stand while working.

That means, according to Dr. Levine’s standards, we should be standing for at least 20 minutes while watching a typical 120-minute feature length movie. It’s a major shift in habits for a society so used to sitting, especially in car-centric suburbs like Brampton. We sit in our cars to get to work, where many of us sit all day at a workstation and then return home at night to sit at the computer or watch TV.

It’s time for many of us to take Dr. Levine’s advice and “get up!” Standing and walking are a lot easier with custom orthotics. If you would like to learn more about walking for exercise and how custom orthotics can help, please visit the HealthMax Physiotherapy Clinic in Brampton. You can also call us at 905-451-3332 or Contact Us. There is no charge for your initial consultation.