Nutrition and healthy eating

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• February 24, 2013 12:15 p.m.

  I wish I was able to stand while at work! I prefer it, however with my current job I actually have to find reasons to get up and walk, because all of my work is at a desk, one that cannot be moved.

  - Lisa

• December 9, 2012 9:12 a.m.

  All these ideas sound great. But as a practical matter, few of us can get away with sitting less than three hours a day, because most of us have 8-hour-a-day jobs and most jobs in America are now office jobs. In addition to having to sit at a computer or reception desk 8 hours a day, most of us have to commute an hour or more each way, giving us 10 hours a day of required sit-down time. I teach college freshmen, which means that I'm on my feet in the classroom. But first I have to do the course prep and sit through interminable time-consuming teacher training workshops, and then I have to read, comment upon, and assess 100,000 to 175,000 words of bad writing per section. This commonly requires eight to ten hours a day of sitting in front of a computer, on top of the commute time. I challenge you to find many working-age Americans who are not in the trades who don't have jobs that make similar demands on their time.

  - FunnyAboutMoney

• September 1, 2012 11:16 a.m.

  My job requires 6 Hours of Sitting and 1 hour of driving... Should I stand to watch TV? To reach the standard hours you set are impossible. :(

  - Kristi

• August 3, 2012 3:17 p.m.

  I work out 4 times a week for an hour each time. Where does that put me in this study? I don't play video games and I am rarely on the phone. I do a lot of standing when I cook and I cook/bake from scratch: no frozen meals. You'd be surprised at how much time washing greens and fruits takes up when you bring them home from the store. When I watch TV, I watch sitting for about 2 hours and then I lie down and watch for another 2 hours. I'm over 65 so when I walk to another room to get something, I usually forget what it is and then I return to where I came from, remember what I wanted, and go back to that room again. That has to count for something because I do it almost every day! If I reduced sitting to less than 3 hours a day, I would die from exhaustion; how could I possibly live 2 years longer? There's something wrong with this study. There were good intentions but sitting for 3-6 hours a day doesn't seem bad to me at all. Were the researchers standing the whole time they conducted the study? Well, I guess that means no more "sit"-ups for me.

  - Marcella

• August 1, 2012 5:12 p.m.

  Make a point of parking a decent distance from the entrance. If I have to walk in to shop/bank/etc., I also have to walk out & between the two, that's a little more exercise. Purposely keep a few household supplies (cleansers, say, or extra computer paper) in a back room, so getting frequently needed items means a little exercise. I'm not convinced baby formula is the devil, though. Some mamas are blessed & can nurse. Some of us weren't & couldn't & our babies somehow survived in spite of it. Mine haven't murdered anyone yet either -- or even gotten obese. How amazing is that?

  - Diana

• July 31, 2012 11:30 p.m.

  I agree that sitting too long is harmful to your health, but there is a misconception here about standing versus sitting. Standing is not exercise. Standing for long periods of time can be more harmful that sitting, for the same length of time. Moving is the key. For example, with respect to Jennifer's comments, disabled or partially disable persons who cannot stand comfortably can easily get their needed healthful exercise while sitting, simply by moving around. It's not necessary to slouch motionless while sitting. With respect to arthritis, there are of course many types and many causes, but for most people with arthritis, moving around helps a lot. The worst thing anybody with arthritis can do is sit and not move around. This article is good except for one thing. When you're on your feet, don't stand. Walk, move around as much as possible within the limits of the space you're in.

  - Chuck

• July 31, 2012 6:24 p.m.

  We are a sedentery nation and need to get moving. I have arthritis and find the more I move, the better I feel. I also believe that our unhealthy eating habits are the cause of a lot of the violence as hypoglycemia leads to aggression. Hypoglycemia is caused by too much sugar and processed foods. Baby formula is also a cause of violence in our streets as babies get their healthy gut flora from the healthy gut flora of their mothers. It's all connected folks! A whole foods plant-based diet is the answer to our healthcare woes! Check out The China Study! It will save your life, I promise!

  - Marianne

• July 31, 2012 8:00 a.m.

  I agree that it is good to get exercise and to not sit too much. However, please consider people with disabilities (including people with arthritis) who may need to sit for medical reasons. This is not to say that we as a society should be complacent about inactivity and obesity. In my opinion, however, U.S. society now has an overemphasis on obesity to the point that we often lose sight of the culture we are creating. The general public now appears to demonize people who aren't picture perfect in the weight and exercise department, to an even greater degree than before the obesity "epidemic." Let's make sure that we present all sides. Sometimes it is not simply a matter of one's discipline or "getting off one's duff." Furthermore, when citing research about the impact of physical activity, remember to explain that the studies involve risk ratios. Risk does not equate to a direct causation between behavior and disease. There is a pretty clear link with smoking, but not so much with obesity and disease. Also remember that Dr. Levine, Dr. Dunstan, and Dr. Pronk represent just one (or three?) research study/ies. There needs to be much more than one or a few study/ies to make definitive conclusions. We also do not know how strong their findings are - this information would be helpful. Last and not least, let's forget about our concern with 16 oz sodas and baby formula (ala Mayor Bloomberg) and start concentrating on the violence in our streets.

  - Jennifer

• July 27, 2012 12:18 p.m.

  Great tips! Another? Consider sit-stand workstations during your work day. Dr. James Levine from the Mayo Clinic, along with Dr. David Dunstan from Baker IDI in Australia and Dr. Nico Pronk from HealthPartners, presented their findings at the JustStand Wellness Summit in July. You can find their research on the impact standing more throughout the day is having on reducing physical inactivity on http://juststand.org/summit or connect to other research on "sitting disease" at http://research.juststand.org.

  - Michelle