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Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

annals.org

11–20 of 115 posts

Re: Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

#11

> Evaluation of their joint association showed that participants classified as high for both sedentary characteristics (high sedentary time [≥12.5 h/d] and high bout duration [≥10 min/bout]) had the greatest risk for death. Is sleep included in the 12.5 hours per day? Even if it isn't, I and everyone I know sits for at least that long each day. Definitely for more than 10 minutes at a time. If we need to interrupt ou…

I think its important to look at this studies from a birds eye view and not get too bogged down in the details.

Is sitting for prolonged periods bad? Yes. Should you get up every 7.5 minutes to walk around? Probably over kill.

If you're the type that goes into work, sits until lunch, then walks to the lunch table, then returns to your desk until closing time - you could probably benefit from more moving.

My hope is that this study will encourage more work places to adopt standing desks, different working environments, and encourage activity through out the day.

Re: Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

#14
10 minutes is a high bout duration for sedentarism? Wow. Where did they find the group with low bout duration then? That would mean having meals standing up, not driving or commuting 10 minutes or more, not watching even a 20-minute TV program, etc.

Re: Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

#15

> Evaluation of their joint association showed that participants classified as high for both sedentary characteristics (high sedentary time [≥12.5 h/d] and high bout duration [≥10 min/bout]) had the greatest risk for death. Is sleep included in the 12.5 hours per day? Even if it isn't, I and everyone I know sits for at least that long each day. Definitely for more than 10 minutes at a time. If we need to interrupt ou…

I'd suggest every hour is a good stop gap. Take 5 minutes. Drink water. Walk, squat and stretch your hips. A nice deep squat, hold it for a minute. It is amazing how much stiffness this alleviates from sitting. Hip flexors get tight after about 15 minutes. It is one of the reasons desk warriors have so much trouble with IT band if they are also recreational runners. Tight-ass hips.

I really despise smart watches, I turn off blue tooth and everything, but the Fenix 3/5 is my companion in my fitness journey. I follow the move indicator. When my watch buzzes, I move for 5 minutes in a way I just described and drink some water. It is annoying, but if you make it meditative and keep your task at hand in mind I have found, with practice, and this being something you always do, it does not disrupt flow state. Flow isn't like meditation, you can literally do this right in front of your monitor and keep thinking about your code or deep work task while you do it.

Re: Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

#17
post #2

This should be obvious, however people still refuse to get up, and just walk around every hour for a minute. I spend a silly amount of time behind a computer, but I'll do 10-20 pushups / jumping jacks, every hour or so. After hours, I'll bang out six miles on the hiking trails. Get up, go get a drink, do a lap around the office. Get a stand/sit desk. Do some simple exercises. Pushups can be done anywhere, and will al…

Seconded. I used to feel lower back pain due to the amount of sitting at a desk. Running and lifting weights did wonders for how I feel on a daily basis.

Exercise didn't help me with my occasional back issues, but switching to a standing desk really did. I didn't get one of those adjustable ones, because $400 for a desk that raises and lowers was silly--instead I just got a draft-height chair and stand and sit as appropriate.

Re: Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

#18
post #2

This should be obvious, however people still refuse to get up, and just walk around every hour for a minute. I spend a silly amount of time behind a computer, but I'll do 10-20 pushups / jumping jacks, every hour or so. After hours, I'll bang out six miles on the hiking trails. Get up, go get a drink, do a lap around the office. Get a stand/sit desk. Do some simple exercises. Pushups can be done anywhere, and will al…

Seconded. I used to feel lower back pain due to the amount of sitting at a desk. Running and lifting weights did wonders for how I feel on a daily basis.

Just running and lifting before or after work doesn't necessarily solve the problem though. I was talking to my doctor about it, and she said it was equally if not more important to take regular breaks during work to walk around, "look at something far away" (computer job), etc.

Re: Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults

#19

> Evaluation of their joint association showed that participants classified as high for both sedentary characteristics (high sedentary time [≥12.5 h/d] and high bout duration [≥10 min/bout]) had the greatest risk for death. Is sleep included in the 12.5 hours per day? Even if it isn't, I and everyone I know sits for at least that long each day. Definitely for more than 10 minutes at a time. If we need to interrupt ou…

I think its important to look at this studies from a birds eye view and not get too bogged down in the details. Is sitting for prolonged periods bad? Yes. Should you get up every 7.5 minutes to walk around? Probably over kill. If you're the type that goes into work, sits until lunch, then walks to the lunch table, then returns to your desk until closing time - you could probably benefit from more moving. My hope is t…

Other studies indicate standing all day isn't good either. You really need a combination of stand sit. I actually think ideal based on what I have read is going to end up being some sort of very slow walk. Static positions cause edema and clotting, period. The longer you hold a static position the worse it is. It can damage muscles due to reduced blood flow and the awkward stretching of muscles and connective tissue.

I don't do this myself, but I think folks that can manage to slow walk at a tread desk are going to be the best and gaining back those years static positions shave.

Yes, standing causes people to move around more, but I actually find standing dramatically more tiring than tread-desking when I have tried it. I prefer sitting and regular movement from the sitting position, tread desking, and finally standing desks.

Personally, standing is also just not comfortable. I have run 50 mile races, and lift heavy things regularly for many years, so I have the physical conditioning for it... I just find it is the most draining way to work. It feels much harder on my body than walking all day or sitting and moving around at regular intervals.

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