Why sitting is not the ‘new smoking’

[AussieNeil]

'Sitting has been branded the “new smoking” for its supposed public health risks, especially for people with sit-down office jobs.

Over the past 15 years or so sitting has been linked with cancer, heart disease and diabetes and even depression. This has led to a surge in media stories on the risks of sitting, even for people who do a lot of exercise.

Then there’s the rise in the popularity of standing desks to encourage people to get off their chairs to improve their health.

But is sitting really that risky? And do we really need standing desks?'

Emmanuel Stamatakis, Associate Professor; Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Health Behaviours, University of Sydney, puts the supposed risks into context: theconversation.com/why-sit...

Too long to sit and read? '...the first priority is to reinforce the most evidence-based message: move as often as possible, huff and puff sometimes.'

Neil

Photo: View down a firetrack intersecting the walking path to Billy Goat Falls on Kangaroo Island (a 4km walk down to the falls and back, where native orchids were found in abundance along the track and rare wallabies (smaller members of the kangaroo family) were observed peeking out of the undergrowth as I passed)).