Dr Zac Turner on common habit that’s ‘as bad as smoking’

It’s something every Aussie will do multiple times a day but a doctor has warned that it could be slowly killing us.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week Dr Zac Turner warns of a regular habit that could be our downfall.

QUESTION: Hi Dr Zac, my company has ramped up a wellbeing initiative, and the first thing it did was give everyone standing desks. I feel like an idiot standing at my desk in the middle of the office, but apparently it’s good for me. Meanwhile, Carole from HR keeps harping on about “sitting is the new cancer”. I don’t understand how standing can be better than sitting, I am still not moving! Is it really better to stand than sit while working? – Trevor, 32, Sydney

ANSWER: ‘Sitting is the new cancer’ is probably what led to your company introducing standing desks. I appreciate that your bullsh*t detector went off when you heard this, as you should only get health advice from your doctor, not your colleague who works in HR. I don’t think it’s the new cancer, but it’s definitely as bad as smoking.

‘I don’t understand how standing can be better than sitting, I am still not moving!’ Picture: iStock

Over the last few decades there’s been a steady rise in cancer, heart disease, diabetes and depression. You could say the ‘awesome foursome’ when it comes to the burden of disease for a population. Many have attempted to reason why we are becoming more unhealthy over time, and one theory is we are leading more sedentary lifestyles. And for many of us this is probably one of our biggest risk factors for disease.

We roll out of bed, sit in our car, sit at our work desk, sit in our car on the way home, sit on the couch, go on a date and sit, pick-up a book and sit down and then, finally, lie down in bed for sleep. There’s not much active movement happening for a long period of time.

If you think back to our caveman times, we were always on the go. Our body was evolved for that lifestyle, not the couch potato lifestyle.

If you think back to our caveman times, we were always on the go. Picture: iStock

Sitting down won’t kill you in itself. If you were to have a holiday in Chernobyl, you probably would get cancer, but it would be caused by the radiation, not all the sitting down.

However, a lack of exercise will definitely make your life much harder.

If you feel like sitting down, that’s most likely your body telling you to park up. Don’t cause unnecessary stress on your joints and spine by refusing to rest your body. Our bodies are designed to pick up patterns and become adaptable to new stressors. That’s why you should always choose to use the stairs instead of the lift – your body will get used to it, and it’s excellent exercise.

Sitting for extended periods of time means you don’t contract your large skeletal muscles. Picture: iStock

Let’s unpack why people believe sitting down is the new smoking

The main contributor to this theory is that people who sit too much have an increased risk of colon and breast cancer. People who are physically active show a 40 per cent decrease in cancer mortality.

What is the scale measured to determine ‘sitting too much’

This would start with the outliers, who truly do not move a muscle all day. Most people are physically active to a degree when they play with their kids, walk their dogs or even clean their home.

Risks of sitting too much

Sitting for extended periods of time means you don’t contract your large skeletal muscles and this lowers the body’s metabolism, thus burning fewer calories.

Levels of unhealthy types of fat, such as triglycerides, increase while the high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol) decrease. They can drop as much as 50 per cent if you sit for a full day.

Your risk of heart disease goes up too, because enzymes that keep blood fats in check are inactive. But again, that’s a full day. Most people in an office get up at least every two hours or so, so they wouldn’t fall into this category.

Sitting for long hours can lead to slouching or adopting improper postures. Picture: iStock

Bad posture

There’s another side effect to prolonged sitting though: poor posture. Sitting for long hours can lead to slouching or adopting improper postures. This causes serious strain on your muscles, back, spine and shoulders. Over time this will cause havoc on your musculoskeletal system.

Something I always try to do is take phone calls standing up. I also try to plan a couple of calls each hour and do them walking around. Not only does it get more blood circulation going and help with energy, it also gets the excitement and creative juices flowing.

Standing desks

Not that it’s my business, but I would recommend that rather than giving standing desks to everyone, your company should offer exercise classes, mandatory walking meetings, or even discounted gym memberships.

What a great incentive that would be for bosses to entice everyone back in to the office!

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Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors. He was also a registered nurse and is a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist along with being a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering.