A few years ago, I blogged about an Australian study which showed that a sedentary lifestyle is harmful to our health regardless of how much exercise we do. Up until then it was often considered that exercise was a mitigating factor against ill health so to hear that it had a much less effect on those couch potato evenings was quite shocking.
Fast forward to 2015 and Canadian researchers have compiled results from 41 clinical studies which all say the same thing: prolonged sitting is bad for us, putting us at higher risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
The difference between 2012 and 2015 though is that standing desks are slightly more mainstream and less faddy, with treadmill desks also on the rise for the less clumsy. Since I first heard about the findings I’ve implemented reading the newspaper while standing at the kitchen counter (raised to the correct height so that my neck isn’t being strained) and I rarely sit on trains anymore.
The take home message from these studies is not to stop exercising obviously, but to realise that our bodies work in a much wholistic way than we assume and we should stop thinking of our bodies and wellbeing as a sum of different parts.
Even if You Exercise, Too Much Sitting Can Make You Sick | Everyday Health