Sitting Could Be The New Smoking!

Anybody who sits all day at work knows how painful it can become.

This is why we were not that surprised to see a new article on ABC news which explains the dangers of sitting:
"Standing Question: Could Sitting Too Long At Work Be Dangerous?"
By Deborah Roberts and Jessica Hopper

According to this article, those who stand at work say that it helps them to stay focused, avoid feeling they need a nap in the afternoon and even helps them shed pounds.
Famous figures such as Donald Rumsfeld and novelist Philip Roth have already been doing it for years and now doctors are starting to say the same.

Marc Hamilton, a physiologist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, has shown that an enzyme that burns fat was turned off when lab mice were prevented from standing up.
Hamilton states, "This enzyme is virtually shut off within hours of not standing, completely independent of diet, comletely independent of weight changes. I think sitting is very dangerous."

Another study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that sitting for long stretches, more than six hours a day, can make someone at least 18% more likely to die from diabetes, heart disease and obesity than those sitting less than three hours a day."

How could sitting be the new smoking?

"Sitting has become the most common human behavior, literally, it outstrips the amount of time we spend sleeping." Hamilton said. Hamilton said that sitting has become a new form of smoking. Smoking was once so common that people were reluctant to see the health hazard it posed.

Some offices are already starting to initiate changes in the workplace, such as SALO in Minneapolis, Minn.
The average SALO employee put on ten pounds in their first year at the company.
This is until obesity expert Dr. Jim Levine moved into the offices to start a six month study involving a moving office. Dr. Levine brought in treadmill desks and employees would walk at about 1mph while answering phones, responding to emails and holding meetings.
One employee, Amy Langer, states she has already lost the baby weight she gained after having three kids in four years. Another employee, John Folkestad, has lost 24lbs. Every single worker at the company has lost and kept their weight off since introducing the moving office.

Doctors, Scientists, Employers and Employees all seem to agree that a standing moving office worker is the employee of the future.
As Dr. Levine states, "If we can create a world where offices are doing better and the employees are becoming healthier, we've got a golden solution."