For many of us, a sedentary lifestyle is an unavoidable part of modern life. Commuting, relaxing, and (if you have an office job) working are all activities that entail a lot of sitting. Without really realising, you can easily spend the vast majority of your day on your rear at no major inconvenience. According to the NHS, many adults in the UK spend around nine hours a day sitting: the equivalent of 63 hours or two and a half days a week.
This is, unfortunately, a problem. “Prolonged sitting is now recognised as an independent risk factor for poor health,” explains Kelly Mackintosh, a world-renowned researcher in sedentary behaviour and professor of sport and exercise science at Swansea University. “It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, poorer mental health, and all-cause mortality.”
Part of the reason is mechanical, adds Nell Mead, physiotherapist. “When your leg muscles stay switched off for hours, the contractile activity [movement] that normally helps them take up glucose and break down fat slows right down, and the sitting posture itself compresses the blood vessels in your legs, reducing circulation.” Prolonged sitting can also increase your injury risk, she says: “When you stay still for long periods and then suddenly ask your body to do something high-load or awkward, like lifting something heavy straight after a long stint at a desk, you’re more likely to pick up a muscle strain or disc injury, because the tissues haven’t been primed to move.”
