Sitting is the New Smoking

Sitting is the New Smoking
Presented by Neal Andrews, MUS Wellness
May 22nd, 2013

Sitting is the New Smoking
Thanks to the MSU College of Education, Health and
Human Development!

Sedentary Lifestyle Trivia
(i.e. Prolonged Sitting)
 The term sedentary comes from the Latin ‘sedere’ (to sit)
and can be defined as any waking sitting or lying behavior
with low energy expenditure. Technically, <1.5METS
 One of the first “sitting” studies was released in 1953. The
study found that seated bus-drivers had twice the risk of
heart attack when compared to active bus conductors.
 A 2011 study found that the average U.S. adult spends 50-
60% of waking hours in “sedentary pursuits.”
 Driving. Sitting at a desk/computer. Watching TV.
 According to 2010 Neilson ratings, the average U.S. adult
spends 35.5 hours per week (2130 minutes) watching TV.
 Most of us spend more time sitting (9.3 hours) than sleeping.
 Results of most studies look at sedentary behavior
independently from exercise.

Effects of Sedentary Lifestyle
 Meta-Analysis
 Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
death. (Diabetologia, Wilmot, et al., 2012)
 Looked at 18 studies involving nearly 800,000 participants
 Results: Higher levels of sedentary behavior were associated with:
• 112% increase in the relative risk of diabetes,
• 147% increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease,
• 90% increase in the risk of cardiovascular mortality
• 49% increase in the risk of all-cause mortality
 These results were largely independent of exercise. (i.e. high levels of sedentary behavior
are still associated with higher risks, even if the person is getting moderate exercise.)

 Television Viewing Study
 Television viewing time and reduced life expectancy. (Veerman et al. 2012.)
 Observational study based in Australia. 11,247 participants age 25 and above (mean 50).
 Results: Compared with persons who watch no TV, those who spend a lifetime average of
6 hours per day watching TV can expect to live 4.8 years less.
 On average, every single hour of TV viewed after the age of 25 reduces the viewer’s life
expectancy by 21.8 minutes.
• This statistic is comparable to other major chronic disease factors such as physical inactivity,
obesity, and smoking.
• Smoking. 1 cigarette=11 minutes off of life span.

 From the researchers:
 Results independent from exercise.
“…a person who does a lot of exercise but watches six hours of TV” every night “might have a similar
mortality risk as someone who does not exercise and watches no TV.”
--Dr. J. Lennert Veerman, University of Queensland (Australia).
“Many of us in modern society have jobs which involve sitting at a computer all day. We might
convince ourselves that we are not at risk of disease because we manage the recommended 30
minutes of exercise a day…*but we+ are still at risk if we sit all day.”
--Dr. Emma Wilmot, University of Leicester (England).

What is a M.E.T.?
 M.E.T.: Metabolic Equivalent of Task
 1 M.E.T.: Energy expenditure of an average person seated at rest.
 1 calorie per kg per hour. (For most persons somewhere a little more than a calorie per
minute.

What is a M.E.T.?
 M.E.T.: Metabolic Equivalent of Task
 1 M.E.T.: Energy expenditure of an average person seated at rest.
 Walking 2mph=2.5 M.E.T.S.
 Walking 3.3mph=3.5 M.E.T.S.
 Walking 4mph=5 M.E.T.S.
 Jogging 6mph=10 M.E.T.S.
 Running 8.5mph=14 M.E.T.S.
 *All of these are on level ground. Walking/running up a grade increases
energy expenditure.

Breakdown of Waking Hours
Sedentary
Time, 9.3
LIPA, 6.5
MVPA, 0.7
LIPA: Low Intensity
Physical Activity
MVPA: Moderate to
Vigorous Physical
Activity (Formal
Exercise)

 Sedentary time is not commonly displaced with MVPA, but with higher
levels of light-intensity activity.
 Substituting sedentary behavior with standing or light-intensity physical
activity may reduce the risk of chronic disease and mortality, independently
to the amount of MVPA undertaken.
 From a study from the Sedentary Behavior Research Network
Sedentary Time LIPA MVPA
An activity profile that looks more like
this should lower Risk Factors like the
ones described in the Wilmot study:
Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease,
Cardiovascular Mortality, and
All-cause Mortality.

An office Tuesday
An office
Friday, NBTWW
14,000 Steps!

Sunday, no exercise
Non-stop Saturday

 Why is sedentary behavior so harmful?
“The most striking feature of prolonged sitting is the absence of skeletal muscle
contractions, particularly in the very large muscles of the lower limbs.”
--Dr. David W. Dunstan, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia.
 When muscles don’t contract, they require less fuel, and the surplus, in the form of blood
sugar, can accumulate in the bloodstream.

 Why is sedentary behavior so harmful?
 Effect on Metabolism
 Triglycerol Uptake
 Reduced HDL levels
 Impaired glucose tolerance by peripheral insulin resistance
• Skeletal muscle is the largest insulin-sensitive organ in the body, accounting for 80% of insulin-
stimulated glucose disposal.
• Excess sitting has a “rapid and deleterious impact on insulin resistance and glycaemia”
• Largest skeletal muscles in the body? Hips and legs.
 Sedentary behavior leads to the depression of metabolic processes
 Effect on Joints
 Synovial Fluid
 Blood Flow/Circulation

 Good News!
 Breaking up periods of prolonged sitting with 2-minute bouts of LIPA every 20 minutes in
overweight and obese adults resulted in positive changes in blood glucose and insulin
levels compared to uninterrupted sitting.
 Larger number of breaks in sedentary time are associated with more favorable metabolic
profiles in one study.
 In TV study, those who watched <2 hours of TV per day were categorized as “low-risk.”
• “All things in moderation!”

 What about standing?
 Prolonged standing (without movement), can have undesired effects as well.
• Blood Pooling
• Low back stiffness
 Changing positions, breaking up sedentary time, and Movement are the
keys to lower health-risks.

 What about sleep?
 We are only referring to behaviors during waking hours.
 Sleep is restorative, beneficial, and necessary to our body, our body systems, and our
brain.
 Good sleep helps relieve stress.
 Even studies linking sleep to weight loss.

Recommendations
 Replacing sedentary behavior/time with light-intensity activities in addition
to increased moderate to vigorous physical activity (exercise) and healthy
dietary practices.
 Regardless of how much MVPA you are getting, everyone who works at a desk, or a job
which requires a lot of sitting, should raise awareness about how to minimize the effects
of sedentary behavior.
 If you predominantly sit at work, the last thing you need when you get home is more
sitting.
 “There is absolutely no doubt that exercise is beneficial for health.” If you
exercise for 30 minutes a day, “take time to reflect on your activity levels for
the remaining 23.5 hours,” and *aim to+ “be active, sit less.”
 Dr. Emma Wilmot

Practical Applications
 Take a break—from sitting!
 Stand up. Stretch. Walk. Break up prolonged sitting!
 Use the stairs rather than elevators/escalators.
 Park farther away from your destination.
 Transportation options? Ride a bike more?
 Stand during phone calls.
 Walking meetings. Standing meetings.
 Using the bathroom on another floor/area of building.
 Office Behavioral architecture.
• Put the garbage bin/printer on the other side of the office.
• Adjustable workstations.
 Use triggers to remind you to get up.
• Alarms, Bell Tower, etc.

Online Wellness Resources
 www.montanamovesandmeals.com
 www.wellness.mus.edu
 www.facebook.com/MUSwellness
 wellness@montana.edu

Sitting is the New Smoking

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