Sit, But Not On A Chair

Sitting for long periods is shockingly bad for you. There is no doubt we should all try to do less of it. But perhaps we could also do it better. Chances are you view sitting as synonymous with chairs. Chairs make sitting sedentary.

Consider the Hadza, a hunter gatherer people in Tanzania. They spend around 9 hours a day sitting.

However, they squat and sit on the ground in various positions, and activity monitors reveal that this entails significant levels of muscle activity. The supportive nature of chairs, with their backs and armrests, remove this effort. Also normal chairs tend to flatten the lower part of the back, which puts more pressure on it, says Josette Bettany- Saltikov at Teesside University, UK. She has found that kneeling or using a stool with a saddle seat can help keep the spine in a better position — as does squatting. “Use a variety of postures, preferably some which allow movement,” says physiotherapist Leon Straker at Curtin University, Australia. He believes that we should be rethinking what it means to do a desk job.

For now, if your job is sedentary, don’t forget to stand up regularly and stretch your legs. ■ —Alison George, New Scientist