Tag Archives: sitting disease

Treadmills Improve Medical Work

This is an interesting article talking about how accuracy improved while walking on a treadmill versus sitting or standing.  I think this is another great reason to sit less (in case the fact that sitting kills you wasn’t enough).  

Fidler and Levine’s 2008 paper documented that reviewers who walked while reading cross-sectional CT scans had a 99% rate of detecting lesions with significant clinical importance, compared to 88.9% for reviewers who sat.

The challenge of course is how to incorporate these treadmills into the workplace without causing any type of risk or having people misuse them.  I can see meeting rooms with a group of treadmills for walking meetings.  I’ve seen companies with several treadmill desks that people can use for conference calls or periods of time when they are focused on a task that can be conducted on a treadmill desk.

This will require some education about what activities can be done.  What speed to use the treadmills at without losing accuracy or getting all sweaty.  Perhaps with increased focus on wellness this will takeoff in more companies.  

Stay Moving Avoid Sitting Disease

A clinician was talking to me he other day about “sitting disease“. They said that our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are causing all kinds of problems – not least of them being obesity.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share this article and Infographic…

Office workers can exercise at their desk to get into better shape

Stuck working in an office with no time to hit the gym on a regular basis? There are ways to burn off a few calories during office hours, says Selen Razon, a physical education professor at Ball State.

“Studies have shown that long periods of inactivity — including sitting at your desk — increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer,” she says. “I suggest that people do a few simple exercises to get their bodies moving and then stretching and toning at your desk. Moving a little goes a long way.”

Razon suggests:
• Start exercising before arriving at your desk by first parking your car as far away from the building as possible and then walking.
• Take the stairs whenever possible.
• Do exercises at your desk, including flexing arms, legs and abs on 30-second intervals.
• Get rid of a chair and sit on a medicine/fitness ball while working. Sitting on a ball will tone and strengthen your abs.
• Stand up and/or take short walks every 20 minutes at desk. Studies show even simple frequent standing breaks significantly decrease your chances of getting diabetes.
• Exchange the typical desk for one that allows you to stand, which burns more calories.
• Bring gadgets to the office. Hand grippers and stretch cords are relatively cheap and can provide great outlets for keeping active while you look at your screen.


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