SITTING IS (NOT) A PIECE OF CAKE

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Sitting is (not) a piece of cake – what’s that supposed to mean?

My colleagues from TRANSFER TOGETHER came up with this slogan while creatively brainstorming for a workshop title on the topic of “Sedentary Behavior and Diabetes Mellitus” on World Diabetes Day. And the longer I think about it, the more impressed I am with how five non-physicians and health laypeople can hit the nail on the head like that. I would like to briefly explain here why I interpret such brilliance in my team.

Let’s take a closer look at the slogan:

1. Sitting is not a piece of cake

Everyone who has ever had to sit for a long time at a stretch, e.g. at the PC, during a long car ride, in a waiting room, etc., probably knows this feeling of slowly tiring and becoming increasingly tense. It has long been known that sitting for long periods promotes tension and back pain. The load on the intervertebral discs is highest in a sitting position.

The metabolism also goes into a slow mode when we’re sitting. Because our muscles hardly work at all when we’re sitting, we consume less energy, breathe more shallowly due to our posture, and our blood circulation slows down. Not exactly the best conditions for top performance at work. Studies show that a sedentary lifestyle promotes permanent fatigue and anxiety, as well as the development of depression and cardiovascular disease.

Summing up: Tension, back pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular disease. Sitting for long, uninterrupted periods is definitely not a piece of cake!

Or is it?

2. Sitting is a piece of cake

Well, from a linguistic point of view, one can argue about this statement. From a physiological point of view, however, it is correct. Sitting for long periods reduces metabolic activity and thus also glucose consumption. Anyone who sits for long periods every day risks becoming overweight and developing diabetes mellitus.

The opposite is true for physical activity: endurance training leads to a more efficient uptake and metabolism of glucose in the muscle cells. Strength training can further improve the uptake of glucose into the muscle via an additional glucose transporter and also increases the basal metabolic rate (= energy consumption that one has in rest phases) with growing muscle mass.

Regular, simple standing up does not fall under the heading of endurance or strength training, but it still has a beneficial effect on the sugar balance. It is ideal to interrupt sitting at least every 30 minutes not only with standing phases but also with light everyday activities: walk a few steps to the trash can, use the toilet on the other floor, invest a few minutes in a short walk after lunch. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the office or at home: opportunities for easy everyday activities can be found all the time. And the best part is that they’re not strenuous, nor do they cost time or money. You just have to remember to incorporate them into your daily routine like a common thread to avoid long periods of sitting.

If you want, you can also use apps to remind you to be active in between. And if you want to integrate a little workout into your daily routine, you don’t need a lot of time or expensive equipment. How about riding your bike more often instead of driving, doing a few squats behind your desk, and simply taking advantage of every opportunity for exercise that presents itself?

3. Promote metabolism with light movement

After these initial puns and basics, I would like to add here findings from scientific publications that have studied the effect of interrupting and replacing periods of sitting with light physical daily activity on blood glucose levels.

• Overweight and severely obese individuals can reduce post-meal blood glucose and insulin levels by engaging in a two-minute walk/movement period approximately every 20 minutes (Dunstan et al., 2012)
• Replacing periods of sitting with light physical activity, such as standing, walking, and cycling (using a desk ergometer/desk bike) during an 8-hour workday reduces 24-h glucose levels and post-meal blood glucose levels (Crespo et al., 2016)
• Replacing/interrupting periods of sitting with standing or walking can improve blood glucose levels, as well as insulin sensitivity (meaning the body responds better to the hormone insulin) (Edwardson et al., 2017)

Risks and side effects?

Enhanced well-being, increased calorie consumption, and more favorable blood sugar levels.

To sum up: Prolonged, uninterrupted sitting is not a piece of cake, but promotes the development of chronic diseases and is not exactly conducive to alertness and well-being. Getting up regularly and moving around in everyday life are simple measures that can help promote health and well-being and keep blood sugar levels in balance.

Exercise is one of the best preventive measures and also one of the best complementary therapies for diabetes mellitus. So go on, get outside and enjoy the sweet life.