Sitting = Bad as Smoking?

With recent studies declaring that sitting is bad for your health, period, those of us who make our living on our butts are in a heap of trouble. Could sitting really be as bad as smoking? Apparently it’s the truth. People who sit at a desk all day (like yours truly) are at an increased risk for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity, among other diseases.

What’s even scarier is that people who work sitting and still workout aren’t making a difference to their own health. Two hours of exercise a day wouldn’t even make a dent in 22 hours of sitting. So what the hell are we supposed to do? Quit our jobs and become bricklayers? I would so suck at that.

Experts advise doing things like parking far from the building and walking in, taking the stairs, walking to talk with a coworker instead of emailing him or her, and walking or standing during lunch. That’s all well and good if you do work in an office—but what about those of us who work from home?

My plan is to simply get up more and move around. Every half hour, I get up and stretch, do a couple of lunges, or simply walk around the house for a moment. If I have to read for research and it’s from a book or other printed source (not the computer) I get up, put the book on the washing machine (my office is in the laundry room), and stand while reading it; sometimes I also walk in place or do some leg lifts while reading as well. Sometimes I’ll even fold laundry and dance a little during a break!

I’m also moving during other situations that traditionally call for sitting. For example, instead of sitting on the toilet reading while my daughter takes a bath, I do lunges in the doorway or simply clean up the bathroom. Rather than play a favorite game in the floor, we use the kitchen table now so I can stand while she sits in a chair. I take all my calls standing now. I even tried watching an episode of Law & Order standing, but that kind of defeated the purpose of relaxing to me and I simply went back to work.

But I have to wonder if that’s even going to make a difference. If two hours of working out a day won’t help, what will? And with as many people there are who work sitting down, are we on the brink of an epidemic? (OK, that question’s a little late—we obviously are overrun with heart disease and obesity in this country.) Still, what exactly is there that we can do?

Do you have any ideas on how to keep your body active while working from home? Please share your tips, tricks, and suggestions here at Healthy and Hale.