A Guide to Active Working in the Modern Office-Homo Sedens in the 21st Century PDF
Preview A Guide to Active Working in the Modern Office-Homo Sedens in the 21st Century
A Guide to Active Working in the Modern Office A Guide to Active Working in the Modern Office Homo Sedens in the 21st Century Robert Bridger Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487–2742 © 2020 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid- free paper International Standard Book Number- 13 978-0-367-00228-2 (Paperback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged, please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www. copyright.com (www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not- for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at www.crcpress.com Dedication A book for anyone wanting to be more active in the office. Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................ix Author Biography ...................................................................................................xi Acknowledgments ................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1 Posture and Movement in Everyday Life.............................................1 Chapter 2 Why Do We Sit in the Office? Seating as a Solution .........................19 Chapter 3 Are We Built to Sit? Sitting as a Problem ..........................................33 Chapter 4 Physical Activity in Everyday Life: Demographic Change in the 21st Century .............................................................................45 Chapter 5 Are We Built to Stand? Problems with Standing at Work and How to Avoid Them ....................................................................57 Chapter 6 Standing as a Solution: Benefits of Becoming More Active at Work ...............................................................................................79 Chapter 7 Bad Habits Versus Active Workplaces ..............................................91 Chapter 8 Choosing Products for Active Office Work .....................................103 Chapter 9 The Future of Office Work ................................................................117 References .............................................................................................................121 Index ......................................................................................................................129 vii Preface Is sitting really the new smoking as some have suggested and do we really need to sit less at work to be healthy? If we do, is standing any better? In this guide, I have reviewed research on standing and sitting going back almost 100 years to find some answers to these questions. What is certain is that the physical demands of much of daily life nowadays bear no resemblance to those of our ancestors and are incompatible with what our bodies are designed to do. We have seen a steady rise in the prevalence of obesity in the general population and in health complaints such as Type II diabetes over the last 50 years. Coupled with an overabundance of cheap foods, dense in calories, the physi- cal condition of the populations of many developed and developing countries has steadily deteriorated. The human body is designed to survive famine and we crave sweet foods because they spare fat stores that are essential when food is scarce. In the past, the work of two people was needed to produce enough food for three and physical work varied with the seasons. Office work is a new development in human history, but has been overtaken by technological and demographic changes. Evidence is emerging that many of the adverse health effects of a sedentary life- style can be mitigated if offices and office work are designed to allow people to sit and stand naturally, the way they do in their free time (when not watching TV or playing computer games, of course!). Sit- stand desks and other new products can also play a role if people are prepared to use them. To date, the scientific evidence that active workplace initiatives do reduce the time people spend sitting at work, is weak. However, that is not the same as saying that there is no evidence at all and that nothing can be done to make office work healthier. The weakness of the evidence is, in part, due to the difficulty of carry- ing out high- quality studies in real workplaces over long periods of time. There is plenty of experimental evidence to suggest that active workplace initiatives and better designs of furniture are efficacious (that is, beneficial in principle) but the evi- dence that they are effective (beneficial in practice and in the long term) is weaker. In this guide, I have reviewed the scientific knowledge and evidence that there is and I have used it to provide the best information that I can at the time of writing. Each chapter ends with some key points and evidence- based guidance based on the material in the chapter. I hope that this book will help you make informed decisions about whether and how to be more active at work. ix
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