Improve your health by not sitting all day at work

January 27 — PROVO — Sitting for more than six hours a day can be as detrimental to your health as smoking. However, there are ways to live a healthier office life.

A study from the American Cancer Society found women who sit more than six hours a day are 37 percent more likely to die than those who sit three hours or less a day. The mortality rate for men in the same situation is 18 percent higher. And research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows prolonged sitting can lead to premature mortality, chronic diseases, diabetes, cancer, metabolic syndrome and obesity.

Knowing the importance of creating a healthy office lifestyle, some departments at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center have invested in a treadmill desk to help employees avoid sitting all day. A treadmill desk is a treadmill with a work surface on top of it, which allows an employee to type or do other tasks while walking.

“We’ve been trying to focus on health as an organization,” said Ethan Shumway, communications director for Intermountain Healthcare in Utah County. “Intermountain changed its mission statement a few months ago to ‘Helping people live the healthiest lives possible,’ and we’re trying to focus on being healthy in the office.”

The walking desk in Shumway’s department allows employees to walk up to 10 miles per hour, but its set on one mile per hour most of the time.

Utah Valley Regional’s Operations Project Manager Michelle Best also saw the benefits of a treadmill desk.

“I invested in a treadmill desk because I think it’s important to find ways to incorporate wellness into the work day,” Best said. “When I thought about how much time I spent sitting at work, I realized that no amount of exercise at the gym could make up for how sedentary I was during the rest of the day. I've noticed that many times, the more I sit, the more tired I become.”

Best recommended breaking up required sitting time by walking on the treadmill desk periodically throughout the day.

If investing in a treadmill desk isn’t an option right now, there are other ways to remain active throughout the workday. Dr. Elizabeth Joy, M.D., medical director of Outcomes Research for Clinical Programs at Intermountain, shared three suggestions for employees to avoid sitting all day:

1.    Take walking breaks for two to three minutes every hour.
2.    Stand up while on conference calls, in meetings or reading.
3.    Use lunch breaks to get some activity.

Dr. Joy also suggests maintaining good posture to avoid shoulder and back pain when sitting is necessary.