Apparently, I'm not doing enough of this:

"It was hard to believe at first," said Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and leader of the research team. He said the team didn't expect to find a strong signal when they began researching what happens to fat when we remain seated. But the effect, both in laboratory animals and humans, turned out to be huge.

The solution, Hamilton said, is to stand up and "putter."

Hey, but isn't sex good, too?

Seriously, when I was at Rockwell (a decade and a half ago) I used to do a lot of MBWA (management by walking around). It was a big plant. These days, working from home, not so much. I've added an inch or two to my waist. I do stand a lot, schmoozing in the hallways, when I go to a conference, every couple months, but I also notice that it kills my back. I can walk for hours, but standing is miserable, at least at the end of the day.

What to do...?

Just don't have sex seated, or while blogging I guess.

Oh, and if you do either while seated, maybe just clench your butt a lot?

Time to stand up for a better fitter life eh? ^_^

(Posted while standing, I'll need to move stuff higher to make this permanent...)

The George Thorogood solution: Get a haircut, and get a REAL job!

:)

There's no law against

http://www.standupdesks.com/

Donald Rumsfeld, aged 75, uses a standup desk.

I can walk for hours, but standing is miserable

I've found that on days when I'm not at my best I can only stand in one place for a few minutes -- but if I keep moving I'm fine. I've also noticed I can get a lot more walking done while standing than sitting. ;-)

This is in agreement with a study (which I'm too lazy to get up off my rear and find) done in the UK about 3 years back that found the only significant lifestyle difference between fat people and thin people was that the thin people averaged 2½ hours a day more on their feet. Standing was far more important than either diet or any specific form of exercise.

Monte, thanks for the link - I'll check that out.

I wouldn't be surprised to find out that there is also a link between being seated for long periods and depression.

Sorry late to the party again. My brother is a therapist and told me to stretch the muscle on the front/inside of my hip. That happens he said is that when we sit for a long time that muscle gets shorter and when we stand it tries to rotate the pelvis forward. This stresses your lower back if you stand for a long time. The only problem is that muscle is hard to stretch.

Monte, those desks are really cool, but they're not cheap. Think I might have a talk with a woodworking buddy of mine ...

Offside, interesting idea. Anybody know of any studies of (eg) wheelchair-bound people?

If you back is hurting from standing then it is most likely your shoes. If you ankles and knees are not in proper alignment then your low back is often made to suffer. They make orthopedic shoe inserts you can find the shoe aisles of a Walmart or Acedemy sports and Outdoors that are specific for this.

I used to do retail sales and that is nothing but standing around for hours on end. Business dress shoes as is aren't that comfortable most of the time and inserts saved my feet and my back.