Sitting still has proven to be the most damaging thing you can do
An international group of scientists has concluded that sitting is less good for human heart health than lying down, much less moving around.Cardiovascular disease is considered one of the two leading causes of death in the world. Researchers from University College London (UK), the University of Sydney (Australia), the University of Turku (Finland) and other scientific organizations ranked the most harmful activities for heart health. The findings are presented in the European Heart Journal.
To do this, scientists compared the results of six studies, which involved a total of more than 15 thousand people. So they got an idea of the impact of a sedentary (and even "standing") lifestyle, light and moderate physical activity, as well as sleep on various indicators of heart health.
Turns out, sitting in one place all day is the worst thing you can do for your cardiovascular system. It increases the risk of high body mass index (BMI), cholesterol levels and glycated hemoglobin in the blood, which is considered a marker for type 2 diabetes.
What's also interesting is that improving these indicators, according to the new paper, doesn't require significant lifestyle changes at all. People who spend all day in an office chair need only get up for half an hour, rather than sitting down, to lower their BMI. The effect is even greater if you replace standing with brisk walking.
If you have no alternative between sitting or, for example, lying down, the scientists advised to lie down and sleep. This will be healthier for your heart than watching TV sitting on the couch. Unfortunately, this option is not applicable for office work in today's real environment.
Note that the harm from sedentary work is a relatively new phenomenon in the history of our species. Until the early twentieth century, even office clerks often worked at a desk - that is, standing, even though they were doing paperwork. Sitting at industrial workstations, on the other hand, often involved serious physical exertion of the arms, as did the work of a coachman.
But hunter-gatherers preferred to squat even while resting, which sharply increased energy expenditure. However, over the last 100 years, sitting still has become one of the most widespread forms of pastime among people, and their bodies, judging by scientific works, are still not adapted to it.