Wikipedia

Sitting

"Sit" redirects here. For other uses, seeSit (disambiguation).

Sittingis abasic action and resting positionin which the body weight is supported primarily by the bonyischial tuberositieswith thebuttocksin contact with the ground or a horizontal surface such as achair seat,instead of by thelower limbsas instanding,squattingorkneeling.When sitting, thetorsois more or less upright, although sometimes it can lean against other objects for a more relaxed posture.

The ThinkerbyAuguste Rodin

Sitting for much of the day may pose significant health risks, with one study suggesting people who sit regularly for prolonged periods may have higher mortality rates than those who do not.[1][2]The average person sits down for 4.7 hours per day, according to a global review representing 47% of the global adult population.[3]

The form ofkneelingwhere the buttocks sit back on the heels, for example as in theSeizaandVajrasanapostures, is also often interpreted as sitting.

Prevalence

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TheBritish Chiropractic Associationsaid in 2006 that 32% of the British population spent more than ten hours per day sitting down.[4]

Positions

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On the floor

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A man sitting on the ground, on a road in Nepal

The most common ways of sitting on the floor involve bending the knees. One can also sit with the legs unbent, using something solid as support for the back or leaning on one's arms. Sitting with bent legs can be done with the legs mostly parallel or by crossing them over each other.

A common cross-legged position is with the lower part of both legs folded towards the body, crossing each other at the ankle or calf, with both ankles on the floor, sometimes with the feet tucked under the knees or thighs. The position is known in several European languages astailor's posture,from the traditional working posture oftailors[5](compare:Tailor's bunion).It is also named after various plains-dwellingnomads:in American EnglishIndian style,[6]in many European languages "Turkish style", and in Japaneseagura(Hồ tọa,The sitting style of non-Han ethnics[a]).In yoga it is known assukhasana,meaning "easy pose."

On a raised seat

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A woman sitting on a chair

Various raised surfaces at the appropriate height can be used asseatsfor humans, whether they are made for the purpose, such aschairs,stoolsandbenches,or not. While the buttocks are nearly always rested on the raised surface, there are many differences in how one can hold one's legs and back.

There are two major styles of sitting on a raised surface. The first has one or two of the legs in front of the sitting person; in the second, sitting astride something, the legs incline outwards on either side of the body.

The feet can rest on the floor or on afootrest,which can keep them vertical, horizontal, or at an angle in between. They can also dangle if the seat is sufficiently high. Legs can be kept right to the front of the body, spread apart, or one crossed over the other.

The upper body can be held upright, recline to either side or backward, or one can lean forward.

Yoga, traditions and spirituality

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There are many seated positions in various traditions and rituals. Four examples are:

  • Chính tọa (zhengzuo) is aChinese wordwhich describes the traditional formal way of sitting in Ancient China. A related position is quỵ tọa, which differs in the tops of the feet being raised off the ground.
  • Vajrasana(Diamond Pose) is ayogaposture (asana) similar to seiza.
  • Thelotus positioninvolves resting each foot on the opposite thigh so that the soles of the feet face upwards.
  • TheBurmese position,named so because of its use inBuddhistsculptures inBurma,places both feet in front of the pelvis with knees bent and touching the floor to the sides. The heels are pointing toward pelvis or upward, and toes are pointed so that the tops of the feet lie on the ground. This looks similar to the cross-legged position, but the feet are not placed underneath the thigh of the next leg, therefore the legs do not cross. Instead, one foot is placed in front of the other.

In variousmythologiesand folk magic, sitting is a magical act that connects the person who sits with other persons, states or places.[7]

Kneeling chairs

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Thekneeling chair(often just referred to as "ergonomicchair ") was designed to motivate better posture than the conventional chair.[qualify evidence]To sit in a kneeling chair, one rests one's buttocks on the upper sloping pad and rests the front of the lower legs atop the lower pad, i.e., thehuman positionas both sitting andkneelingat the same time.

Health risks

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See also:Non-exercise activity thermogenesis
Backof a sitting nude by school ofRembrandt

In 1700,De Morbis Artificum Diatribalisted sitting in odd postures as a cause of diseases in "chair-workers".[8]Current studies indicate there is a significantly higher mortality rate among people who regularly sit for prolonged periods, and the risk is not negated by regular exercise, though it is lowered.[1][9]The causes of mortality and morbidity includeheart disease,obesity,type 2 diabetesandcancer,specifically,breast,endometrial,colorectal,lung,andepithelial ovarian cancer.[1][9][10][11][12]The link between heart disease and diabetes mortality and sitting is well-established, but the risk of cancer mortality is unclear.[11][13]Sedentary time is also associated with an increased risk ofdepressionin children and adolescents.[14]A correlation between occupational sitting specifically and higherbody mass indexhas been demonstrated, but causality has not yet been established.[9]There are several hypotheses explaining why sitting is a health risk. These include changes incardiac output,vitamin D,inflammation,sex hormoneactivity,lipoprotein lipaseactivity, andGLUT4activity due to long periods of muscular unloading, among others.[9][11][12]

Sitting may occupy up to half of an adult's workday in developed countries.[9]Workplace programs to reduce sitting vary in method. They includesit-stand desks,counseling,workplace policy changes, walking or standing meetings,treadmill desks,breaks,therapy ballchairs, and stepping devices.[10][15]Results of these programs are mixed,[10]but there is moderate evidence to show that changes to chairs (adjusting the biomechanics of the chair or using different types of chairs) can effectively reduce musculoskeletal symptoms in workers who sit for most of their day.[16]

Public health programs typically focus on increasing physical activity rather than reducing sitting time.[1][17]One major target for these public health programs is sitting in the workplace.[10][15]For example, WHO Europe recommended in September 2015 the provision of adjustable desks in the workplace.[17]In general, there is conflicting evidence regarding the precise risks of sitting for long periods.[9]A 2018Cochrane reviewfound low-quality evidence that providing employees with astanding deskoption may reduce the length of time some people sit at work in the first year.[15]This reduction in sitting may decrease with time, and there is no evidence that standing desks are effective in the long term.[15]In addition, a 2018British Journal of Medicinesystematic review concluded that interventions aimed at reducing sitting outside of work were only modestly effective.[18]It is not clear how standing desks compare to other work-place interventions to reduce the length of time employees are sitting during the work day.[15]

Relationship between posture and health conditions

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Though most studies even until early 21st century relate human body postures to variousmusculoskeletal conditions,recent researches show no potential causal relationship between postures and these conditions likeback pain;[19]other causes likesleep deprivation,stressand long-term physical inactivity or prolonged static unnatural postural stress could be significant confounders for various health conditions.[20]However some research show that prolonged slouched position may be a cause for minor breathing disorders.[21]Though still a large proportion of the clinical practitioners attribute absence of aneutral spineposture as one of the main causes of conditions likeback painandneck pain,the relationship is not thoroughly established.[citation needed]It is also thought that much of so-called "poor posture"is actually just postural stress and being stuck with badergonomicsthat could be causing the pain, and not really a postural problem.[22]iHunchis an example of postural stress which could cause upper back pain and neck pain, which is prevalent in younger generations and people whose occupation involves prolonged usage of computers. The concept of "good posture" has led to acommon misconceptionthat sitting in one good sitting position will allay the negative effects of sitting.[23][24]

Sedentary behaviour

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Women reclining in chairs. Painting byJean-François de Troy.

Sedentary behaviour is any waking behaviour, whether in sitting or reclining posture, by an energy expenditure less than or equal to 1.5metabolic equivalents of task(METs).[25]MET, beside the watt and kilojoules, is the unit for expressing the energy cost of physical activities. One MET is defined as resting metabolic rate – as energy used with a person at rest, sitting quietly in a chair or as the amount of oxygen (O2) consumed with that person.[26]MET for an adult weighing 70 kg equals 3.5 ml O2per kg body weight per min.[27]

Sedentary behaviour should be distinguished from being inactive – performing insufficient amounts of MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity).[28]TheWorld Health Organization[29]recommends at least 60 min of daily MVPA for children and adolescents aged 5–17 years, and 150 min of weekly MVPA for adults.

Sedentary behaviour can not be equated with screen time, although some researchers found out that a large share of waking time by children and adolescents in a sedentary position is accumulated by media consumption in front of a screen.[30]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Particularly Turks, Mongols and other Central Asians.

References

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  1. ^abcdBiswas, A; Oh, PI; Faulkner, GE; Bajaj, RR; Silver, MA; Mitchell, MS; Alter, DA (2015). "Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis".Annals of Internal Medicine.162(2):123–32.doi:10.7326/M14-1651.PMID25599350.S2CID7256176.
  2. ^Mole, Beth (2017-09-13)."The new study suggesting sitting will kill you is kind of a raging dumpster fire".Ars Technica.Retrieved2021-01-20.
  3. ^on behalf of the Sedentary Behaviour Council Global Monitoring Initiative Working Group; Mclaughlin, M.; Atkin, A. J.; Starr, L.; Hall, A.; Wolfenden, L.; Sutherland, R.; Wiggers, J.; Ramirez, A.; Hallal, P.; Pratt, M. (December 2020)."Worldwide surveillance of self-reported sitting time: a scoping review".International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.17(1): 111.doi:10.1186/s12966-020-01008-4.ISSN1479-5868.PMC7469304.PMID32883294.
  4. ^"Sitting straight 'bad for backs'".BBC. November 28, 2006.RetrievedFebruary 20,2015.
  5. ^"The Art of the Cut".History.org. Archived fromthe originalon August 5, 2007.Retrieved2012-03-16.
  6. ^Larson, David E. (1976-03-15)."Sitting Posture of Children".JAMA.235(11): 1106.doi:10.1001/jama.1976.03260370016009.ISSN0098-7484.
  7. ^Čajkanović, Veselin(1996)."Magical Sitting".Anthropology of East Europe Review.14(1). Translated by Živković, Marko. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-07-03.Retrieved2007-07-09.It is obvious from all the above that sitting, seen from the viewpoint of the history of religion, could be a magical act which, within the framework of analogic magic, will establish a certain relationship, a covenant.
  8. ^Ramazzini, B. (2001)."De Morbis Artificum Diatriba Diseases of Workers".American Journal of Public Health.91(9):1380–1382.doi:10.2105/AJPH.91.9.1380.PMC1446785.PMID11527762.
  9. ^abcdefvan Uffelen, Jannique G. Z.; Wong, Jason; Chau, Josephine Y.; van der Ploeg, Hidde P.; Riphagen, Ingrid; Gilson, Nicholas D.; Burton, Nicola W.; Healy, Genevieve N.; Thorp, Alicia A. (Oct 2010)."Occupational sitting and health risks: a systematic review".American Journal of Preventive Medicine.39(4):379–388.doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2010.05.024.ISSN1873-2607.PMID20837291.S2CID205433800.
  10. ^abcdChau, Josephine Y.; der Ploeg, Hidde P. van; van Uffelen, Jannique G. Z.; Wong, Jason; Riphagen, Ingrid; Healy, Genevieve N.; Gilson, Nicholas D.; Dunstan, David W.; Bauman, Adrian E. (Nov 2010). "Are workplace interventions to reduce sitting effective? A systematic review".Preventive Medicine.51(5):352–356.doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.08.012.ISSN1096-0260.PMID20801153.
  11. ^abcProper, Karin I.; Singh, Amika S.; van Mechelen, Willem; Chinapaw, Mai J. M. (Feb 2011). "Sedentary behaviors and health outcomes among adults: a systematic review of prospective studies".American Journal of Preventive Medicine.40(2):174–182.doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2010.10.015.ISSN1873-2607.PMID21238866.
  12. ^abLynch, Brigid M. (Nov 2010). "Sedentary behavior and cancer: a systematic review of the literature and proposed biological mechanisms".Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.19(11):2691–2709.doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-10-0815.ISSN1538-7755.PMID20833969.S2CID1026991.
  13. ^Wilmot, E. G.; Edwardson, C. L.; Achana, F. A.; Davies, M. J.; Gorely, T.; Gray, L. J.; Khunti, K.; Yates, T.; Biddle, S. J. H. (14 August 2012)."Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: systematic review and meta-analysis"(PDF).Diabetologia.55(11):2895–2905.doi:10.1007/s00125-012-2677-z.PMID22890825.S2CID24453607.
  14. ^Liu, M; Wu, L; Yao, S (9 November 2015)."Dose-response association of screen time-based sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents and depression: a meta-analysis of observational studies".British Journal of Sports Medicine.50(20):1252–1258.doi:10.1136/bjsports-2015-095084.PMC4977203.PMID26552416.
  15. ^abcdeShrestha, Nipun; Kukkonen-Harjula, Katriina T.; Verbeek, Jos H.; Ijaz, Sharea; Hermans, Veerle; Pedisic, Zeljko (17 December 2018)."Workplace interventions for reducing sitting at work".The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.2018(12): CD010912.doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010912.pub5.ISSN1469-493X.PMC6517221.PMID30556590.
  16. ^van Niekerk, Sjan-Mari; Louw, Quinette Abigail; Hillier, Susan (2012)."The effectiveness of a chair intervention in the workplace to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms. A systematic review".BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders.13:145.doi:10.1186/1471-2474-13-145.ISSN1471-2474.PMC3552974.PMID22889123.
  17. ^abEurope, WHO (September 2015)."World Health Organization"(PDF).WHO.RetrievedOctober 7,2015.
  18. ^Shrestha, N; Grgic, J; Weisner, G; Parker, A; Podnar, H; Bennie, J; Biddle, SJH; Pedisic, Zeljko (13 January 2018)."Effectiveness of interventions for reducing non-occupational sedentary behaviour in adults and older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis"(PDF).British Journal of Sports Medicine.53(19): bjsports–2017–098270.doi:10.1136/bjsports-2017-098270.PMID29331992.S2CID3291752.
  19. ^Lederman, Eyal (April 2011). "The fall of the postural-structural-biomechanical model in manual and physical therapies: exemplified by lower back pain".Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.15(2):131–138.doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2011.01.011.ISSN1532-9283.PMID21419349.
  20. ^"Are you sitting comfortably: the myth of good posture".The Guardian.5 March 2018.
  21. ^Albarrati, Ali; Zafar, Hamayun; Alghadir, Ahmad H.; Anwer, Shahnwaz (2018)."Effect of Upright and Slouched Sitting Postures on the Respiratory Muscle Strength in Healthy Young Males".BioMed Research International.2018:3058970.doi:10.1155/2018/3058970.PMC5845520.PMID29682532.
  22. ^"Posture Correction: Does it matter?".
  23. ^Ravenscraft, Eric (April 8, 2020)."My Long, Unending Journey to Find Perfect Office Equipment".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 24,2024.
  24. ^de Brito, Raquel (July 3, 2018)."Perfect posture myth".The West Australian.RetrievedJune 24,2024.
  25. ^Sedentary Behaviour, Research Network (2012). "Letter to the editor: Standardized use of the terms" sedentary "and" sedentary behaviours "".Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.37(3):540–542.doi:10.1139/h2012-024.PMID22540258.
  26. ^Jette, M.; Sidney, K.; Blümchen, G. (1990). "Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity".Clinical Cardiology.13(8):555–65.doi:10.1002/clc.4960130809.PMID2204507.S2CID23629878.
  27. ^Adamo, Kristi B.; Prince, Stephanie A.; Tricco, Andrea C.; Connor-Gorber, Sarah; Tremblay, Mark (2009). "A comparison of indirect versus direct measures for assessing physical activity in the pediatric population: A systematic review".International Journal of Pediatric Obesity.4(1):2–27.doi:10.1080/17477160802315010.PMID18720173.
  28. ^Sturm, David J.; Kelso, Anne; Kobel, Sussane; Demetriou, Yolanda (2020)."Physical activity levels and sedentary time during school hours of 6th-grade girls in Germany".Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice.29(4):847–855.doi:10.1007/s10389-019-01190-1.S2CID210158026.
  29. ^"WHO 2011".Archived fromthe originalon November 16, 2011.
  30. ^Huber, Gerhard; Koppe l, Maximilian (2017)."Analyse der Sitzzeiten von Kindern und Jugendlichen zwischen 4 und 20 Jahren".DZSM.2017(4):101–106.doi:10.5960/dzsm.2017.278.

Further reading

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  • Media related toSittingat Wikimedia Commons
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