Philosophical Vegan Forum

I've been wondering about this for a while. You often hear how "sitting is the new smoking" or "your chair is killing you", and the evidence seems really lackluster to me. Sure, there is a correlation between sitting and diseases/shorter lives, but it also seems logical to me that:
- people that are ill sit more
- people that are overweight sit more
- a lack of excercise manifests in sitting
- people that sit a lot do so because they lack social connections or are stressed

All these things seem like plausible explanations to me. I'm open to investing in a standing desk and stuff, but so far I remain unconvinced. What do you think of sitting? Is it as dangerous as people make it out to be?

Well I never sit like everyone else 90% of the time. Does that count as the unhealthy kind of sitting?

I got a standing desk because I was ruining my back by sitting

This video makes sitting sound really bad, though I cant be bothered to check their sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiKg6JfS658

knot wrote:I got a standing desk because I was ruining my back by sitting

This video makes sitting sound really bad, though I cant be bothered to check their sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiKg6JfS658

ASAPscience has a history of presenting extremely bad science.
(e.g., plant intelligence, eating insects)

Can proper excercise and general physical activity counter this? I quite enjoy sitting and doing something after a day at school and one to two hours or so of tennis.

Cirion Spellbinder wrote:Can proper excercise and general physical activity counter this? I quite enjoy sitting and doing something after a day at school and one to two hours or so of tennis.

That's pretty much what I wonder. I've heard it said that 5 minutes of walking counteracts the negative effects of 1 hour of sitting. If that is so, I think sitting is not so much the problem as a lack of excercise.

ASAP isn't the only one who says that exercising doesn't counter sitting. LEMMiNO said it in his top 10 facts about humans. I would not trust him for information either.

miniboes wrote:

knot wrote:I got a standing desk because I was ruining my back by sitting

This video makes sitting sound really bad, though I cant be bothered to check their sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiKg6JfS658

ASAPscience has a history of presenting extremely bad science.
(e.g., plant intelligence, eating insects)

ok, it does seem like they are making shit up to be sensationalist and get dem youtube views

Sitting for a long time is bad. Get up and walk around every half-hour or so.
It seems plausible that five minutes of walking plus an hour of sitting is about the same as an hour of standing.

While sitting, try to shift your posture frequently. If you can get into the habit of silently moving your legs (in a bounce, or back and forth) that can do a lot. Fidgeting appears to be healthier than sitting still.

A standing desk is a great option if you like it. I do that sometimes (just put boxes on your sitting desk, and move your chair to try it out -- don't buy something fancy unless you're sure you like it). Or you can do as Greger likes to do: Walk on a treadmill while working.

Sitting is not the new smoking, though. It's not even the new meat. Physical activity comes in as a distant third from what I know.

brimstoneSalad wrote:While sitting, try to shift your posture frequently. If you can get into the habit of silently moving your legs (in a bounce, or back and forth) that can do a lot. Fidgeting appears to be healthier than sitting still.

I think using an excercise ball instead of a chair goes a long way for this. The downside is that they easily get a leak, so you have to buy a new one every half year or so. When I don't have an excercise ball I tend to get back pains.