Over the last few years, major media have had some sensationalistic headlines like “sitting is the new smoking.”

But is that really the case? Is sitting really the new smoking? Or are these just nice headlines the media use to get eyeballs? As you’ll see, while sitting is not exactly the greatest thing in the world, it’s not exactly as bad as smoking, either.

Where The Myth of “Sitting is the New Smoking” Came From

Quite a number of studies has found associations between sitting and cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and depression.

But then reporters made the first big mistake of science: they confused correlation with causation. To say that “sitting is associated with disease” is not the same as “sitting causes disease.” Just because something is associated with something else, doesn’t mean it causes it. For example: firefighters are seen wherever there’s a fire. So firefighters are associated with fires. Does it mean that they caused the fire? Seems silly, doesn’t it?

Another example: ice cream sales are associated with drowning. The more ice cream is sold, the more people drown. Does that mean that ice cream causes drowning? No. Ice cream sales are higher when the temperature is higher. Swimming is also higher when the temperature is higher. If more people swim, more people drown. Makes sense. But to say that because ice cream sales increase when drowning increases, and therefore ice cream causes drowning would be ludicrous.

But hey, “ludicrous” shouldn’t stand in the way of a good story.

So yeah, sitting is associated with disease. But so is obesity. So is physical inactivity. So is unhealthy eating. Etc.

Original source: here.

Is Sitting Really the New Smoking?

The short answer: not even close. The long answer: keep reading.

One study, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine followed 4811 public servants (who are sitting all day long) for 13 years. At the beginning of the study, the average age was 44. At the end of 13 years, only 402 out of 4811 developed diabetes. But wait. These people also developed obesity. So which was the bigger contributor to the diabetes – the sitting, or the obesity? Hmm….

However, for people who are both physically inactive (they don’t exercise) AND obese, yes, with more sitting comes more disease.

But it goes deeper than that. Whether you sit at work or whether you sit in front of the TV makes a difference. For people sitting at work, there’s a very weak association between sitting and health risks (and again, that’s association… not causation). Whereas for people sitting watching TV, there’s a stronger association between sitting and health risks.

Wait a minute. So that must mean that TV is really the cause of the increased health risks, right?

Wrong.

Remember my whole shpiel at the beginning of this article on how correlation (AKA “association”) is NOT causation? That’s exactly when it applies. To conclude that TV causes ill health would be a false conclusion. TV watching is associated with ill health. But there are other confounding variables. People who work long hours don’t have time to watch a lot of TV. People who are unemployed do have time to watch a lot of TV. Could socioeconomic status have something to do with it? Could people with pre-existing mental health issues watch more TV than people without pre-existing mental health issues? Sure. Could there be other factors as well? Sure.

But Still… Is Sitting Actually Good for You?

So is sitting really the new smoking? Probably not. But does that mean that it’s actually good for you? In moderation, it’s pretty neutral – it’s neither good, nor bad. But excessive sitting can be quite bad, because you can:

  • Develop back problems
  • Develop neck problems
  • Get eye strain

…and more.

But excessive standing isn’t exactly great, either. As I mentioned in my article on the pros and cons of a standing desk, excessive standing can come with its own set of problems, like:

  • Foot problems
  • Varicose veins
  • Swollen calves

I can hear you thinking “Damn Igor! So I shouldn’t sit, and I shouldn’t stand??? What should I do? Lie down?”

Well, no. You see, lying down excessively also comes with it’s own set of problems, like…

Just kidding.

Basically, the message is that any position held for too long is a bad position. The body is meant to move. You’re meant to fidget. So move and fidget.

Really, sitting too long is simply part of the bigger picture of physical inactivity. It’s the physical inactivity, obesity, and poor nutrition that’s really associated with ill health, and prolonged sitting is just a part of that.