Yet another "It's bad. No, it's good. No, it's..."

[GeoffreyLevens]

Standing All Day Is Twice as Bad as Sitting for Your Heart

On the circle of health hype, what was bad becomes good, then it becomes overrated, then it becomes bad again. That’s what happened to barefoot running and multivitamins, and it’s where the purported dangers of “too much sitting” seem to be headed.

But, like all hype cycles, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle rather than on the peaks or in the valleys...

[roundcoconut]

Yeah, that's the trouble with the press. They LOVE those kinds of stories! "Standing is bad." Well, for whom? What populations exactly, cannot stand without incurring pain or other health consequences??

Y'gotta come to the conclusions that we're a damaged and disabled population when people cannot stand in one place without incurring pain, inflammation, or other consequences. What the heck?!?

I do know that I personally can stand without any noticeable pain, so that is a sign of at least the fact that my health is not that far gone.

On a side note, I think that their assertion is totally untrue -- I think it's the reverse: sitting is worse than standing, from the perspective of heart health. But oh well!

[GeoffreyLevens]

Talk to a grocery store cashier about their legs and circulation. That's a hint right there. This was not about just standing a bit but rather about standing essentially in one place all day at work, a bit difference. I don't know the answer but suspect as the article says, that as with most things, somewhere in the middle is where the "truth" lies

[colonyofcells]

walking in place is probably healthier but can also rest.

[roundcoconut]

Honestly, though, I question anyone who says, "Sitting for four hours is better than standing for four hours" (or any defined length of time really!) -- it really doesn't hold up to any common-sense scrutiny for me.

Sitting is really the lowest form of existence, and the body really falls apart fast when a human sits for large parts of the day. I don't tend to think that's the case for standing.

It can be difficult to tease apart the different factors involved in standing jobs versus sitting jobs. Does one group of people have a crappier and less stimulating work environment? Is one group of people paid like crap? Do sitters come from different socioeconomic backgrounds with different food patterns or alcohol patterns of smoking patterns?

In other words, people in standing jobs may have poorer heart health, DESPITE the fact that they get to stand up at work, rather than sit down. It just may be that they have lots of other things working against them, like jobs they hate, or pre-existing conditions that make standing painful.

I only mention this because whenever I am forced to be in a sitting position for three hours (an airplane flight is the most confining thing i can think of), it is ROUGH and I cannot imagine for a second that position is good anyone whatsoever.

[colonyofcells]

Can get blood clots in the leg if sit for too long in a plane so I always walk around in a plane altho it can irritate the workers in the plane. To be more useful on the plane, I help people find vacant restrooms. One worker told me I cannot stand near the emergency exit door.

[roundcoconut]

I would love to see an informal study of ten people working at sitting jobs, who switch to standing desks (working up to a relatively full workday in a standing position, but not forcing it on them unnaturally) but change nothing else whatsoever.

Just the simple act of elevating their desk and taking away their chair, and then check their blood pressure and their mood levels and their weight one month later, and see if things are worse. I am hard-pressed to think you could introduce more standing, and get worse outcomes. It simply makes no sense to me! Does anyone see where I'm coming from on this?

I DO work on my feet, and look at the people who sit all day, and they look like crap, from a weight angle, and from a mood angle, and from a cardiovascular angle. Just from the common-sense angle, I cannot see sitting being positive. Sitting just tends to be low-energy and awful.

Another thought is, I'd love to see people in the same exact job be assigned to sit while doing their job, as opposed to stand while doing their job. And see how that works out. Someone teaching English abroad could easily be assigned to sit at the front of the room rather than stand, and their co-worker could be assigned to do the reverse. Then change their assignments for one month, and see which position they got better health outcomes doing.

It IS an interesting topic though!

[colonyofcells]

One way I rest my feet is I use my door frame pull up bar.

[Willijan]

Interesting research. A good jumping off point for other researchers to try to answer the questions this one raises about who precisely is in each group (primarily standing or primarily sitting at work, men vs women, one career vs others, and the combination of sitting/standing/walking group). I'd like to know more about socio-economic levels, jobs worked, and hours worked.

The article was unusually well-written too, taking up many points that might otherwise lead one to question the study.

[camellian]

Staying in one position too long is generally not good for you, standing OR sitting.

I stand at my desk for a while, then if something starts to get sore or I start to get tired I set for a while. Then when I start to feel groggy/icky from sitting, I stand up again.

Trying to say whether sitting is better/worse than standing is like trying to say whether pants are better or worse than shirts - you probably won't make it very far unless you have both!

[jabowman1950]

I've been doing the McDougall starch based diet for 6 weeks. Like many I've done everything before. My current motivation was getting my blood pressure down. Well, it came down within 3-4 days to a normal level. Now after the 6 weeks I have very low blood pressure.....like 100 over 55. I feel tired and slightly disoriented when I get up. I almost feel like my heart will just forget to beat. Last night, I had eggs. Thought it might make me feel better...more stable. It did. I don't want to abandon the whole approach, but want energy and not to have frighteningly low blood pressure. Any one out there with advice on this? Thanks.

Jo Anne

[GeoffreyLevens]

I've been doing the McDougall starch based diet for 6 weeks. Like many I've done everything before. My current motivation was getting my blood pressure down. Well, it came down within 3-4 days to a normal level. Now after the 6 weeks I have very low blood pressure.....like 100 over 55. I feel tired and slightly disoriented when I get up. I almost feel like my heart will just forget to beat. Last night, I had eggs. Thought it might make me feel better...more stable. It did. I don't want to abandon the whole approach, but want energy and not to have frighteningly low blood pressure. Any one out there with advice on this? Thanks.

Jo Anne

1) See a doctor. There can be any one or several reasons for feeling that way.
2) Enter everything you eat (by weight if possible i.e. weigh each item as you add it to whatever you are going to eat) into CRONoMeter or similar program and check to make sure you are getting in a reasonable amount of calories every day. I have known several people eating Starch Solution or similar who just were not eating enough without realizing it and would feel much as you describe, light headed, weak, faint, headache, one even felt as if she was getting the flu (feverish, aches and pains); as soon as they started eating a more reasonable amount all symptoms cleared.

Try both of those and let us know what you find out. You may solve the issue right there but if not, someone else may have more ideas for you to explore.

[Chumly]

Are you taking any medication to lower your blood pressure?

Michael

[jabowman1950]

No, no BP medication. I am on thyroid medication for hypothyroidism and have had that checked recently. I needed to up the dosage of medication I take andI will have that retested in 3 weeks, so that could be the issue. I will keep better track of my food intake, but I actually think I'm getting fatter and more lethargic.

Jo Anne

[jabowman1950]

PS: The best part of the McDougall approach so far has been an extreme reduction in sugar cravings and binging. I will say that. Something about the "starch" part that is so satisfying. And, of course, it was great to lower my blood pressure but not THIS much.

Jo Anne