HBR ran an very interesting blog entry on humanity's ubiquitous posture for the past couple of decades. The article's title says it all.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/01/sitting_is_the_smoking_of_our_generation.html
With work hours getting prolonged and our permanent fixation with cars and TVs, we find ourselves sitting for longer hours, throughout the day. Marc Hamilton (Pennington Biomedical Research Center) has been researching the effect of sitting, on the human body and found some very interesting results.To quote the research work that appeared in the New York Times: "To show that the ill effects of sitting could have a rapid onset in humans too, Hamilton recruited 14 young, fit and thin volunteers and recorded a 40 percent reduction in insulin’s ability to uptake glucose in the subjects — after 24 hours of being sedentary." (emphasis added).
The Swedish Automaker that I work for presently has some very interesting ergonomic furniture in their offices in Sweden. One of its features being that it allows one to extend the height of the desk to facilitate standing. While in our Gothenburg office, I would spend most of the day standing. No sore legs, nothing. That coupled with a reliance on public transport, cycling etc., could make Sweden a model to replicate in other countries.
A couple of years back I often wondered how despite 2hrs of rigourous workout in the gym and a carefully monitored diet, I was still looking lethargic and not in shape. The answer lay in the 9+hrs at the desk in office and another 2+ hrs in front of the TV while back home.
Reading this article now answers a lot of questions with regard to health and lifestyle choices.
I for one, am writing this article standing up.
