Sitting is a basic action and resting position in which the body weight is supported primarily by the bony ischial tuberosities with the buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal surface such as a chair seat , instead of by the lower limbs as in standing , squatting or kneeling . When sitting, the torso is more or less upright, although sometimes it can lean against other objects for a more relaxed posture.
23-407: A seat is a place to sit . The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest , head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. The following are examples of different kinds of seat: The word seat comes from Middle English sete , Old English gesete / geseten and/or sǣte seat, sittan to sit. Possibly related to or cognate with Old Norse sæti . The first known use of
46-423: A cause for minor breathing disorders. Though still a large proportion of the clinical practitioners attribute absence of a neutral spine posture as one of the main causes of conditions like back pain and neck pain , the relationship is not thoroughly established. It is also thought that much of so-called " poor posture " is actually just postural stress and being stuck with bad ergonomics that could be causing
69-501: A global review representing 47% of the global adult population. The form of kneeling where the buttocks sit back on the heels, for example as in the Seiza and Vajrasana postures, is also often interpreted as sitting. The British Chiropractic Association said in 2006 that 32% of the British population spent more than ten hours per day sitting down. The most common ways of sitting on
92-414: A large share of waking time by children and adolescents in a sedentary position is accumulated by media consumption in front of a screen. Bernardino Ramazzini#Occupational medicine Bernardino Ramazzini ( Italian pronunciation: [bernarˈdino ramat'tsini] ; 4 October 1633 – 5 November 1714) was an Italian physician. Ramazzini, along with Francesco Torti , was an early proponent of
115-442: 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 a footrest , 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
138-438: 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. The causes of mortality and morbidity include heart disease , obesity , type 2 diabetes and cancer , specifically, breast , endometrial , colorectal , lung , and epithelial ovarian cancer . The link between heart disease and diabetes mortality and sitting
161-935: Is any waking behaviour, whether in sitting or reclining posture, by an energy expenditure less than or equal to 1.5 metabolic equivalents of task (METs). 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 (O 2 ) consumed with that person. MET for an adult weighing 70 kg equals 3.5 ml O 2 per kg body weight per min. Sedentary behaviour should be distinguished from being inactive – performing insufficient amounts of MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity). The World Health Organization 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
184-399: Is known as sukhasana , meaning "easy pose." Various raised surfaces at the appropriate height can be used as seats for humans, whether they are made for the purpose, such as chairs , stools and benches , 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
207-516: 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. Public health programs typically focus on increasing physical activity rather than reducing sitting time. One major target for these public health programs is sitting in the workplace. For example, WHO Europe recommended in September 2015
230-958: Is well-established, but the risk of cancer mortality is unclear. Sedentary time is also associated with an increased risk of depression in children and adolescents. A correlation between occupational sitting specifically and higher body mass index has been demonstrated, but causality has not yet been established. There are several hypotheses explaining why sitting is a health risk. These include changes in cardiac output , vitamin D , inflammation , sex hormone activity, lipoprotein lipase activity, and GLUT4 activity due to long periods of muscular unloading, among others. Sitting may occupy up to half of an adult's workday in developed countries. Workplace programs to reduce sitting vary in method. They include sit-stand desks , counseling , workplace policy changes, walking or standing meetings, treadmill desks , breaks, therapy ball chairs, and stepping devices. Results of these programs are mixed, but there
253-433: Is your occupation?". Ramazzini saw prevention as being better than cure. In his Oratio given in 1711, he suggested that "it is much better to prevent than to cure, and so much easier to foresee future harm and avoid it rather than have to get rid of it after having fallen prey". In regards to malaria , Ramazzini was one of the first to support the use of the quinine-rich bark cinchona . Many falsely claimed that quinine
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#1732841567328276-406: 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
299-575: The floor, sometimes with the feet tucked under the knees or thighs. The position is known in several European languages as tailor's posture , from the traditional working posture of tailors (compare: Tailor's bunion ) . It is also named after various plains-dwelling nomads : in American English Indian style , in many European languages "Turkish style", and in Japanese agura ( 胡座 , The sitting style of non-Han ethnics ) . In yoga it
322-446: The health hazards of chemicals, dust, metals, repetitive or violent motions, odd postures, and other disease-causative agents encountered by workers in more than fifty occupations. This was one of the founding and seminal works of occupational medicine and played a substantial role in its development. He proposed that physicians should extend the list of questions that Hippocrates recommended they ask their patients by adding, "What
345-828: The long term. In addition, a 2018 British Journal of Medicine systematic review concluded that interventions aimed at reducing sitting outside of work were only modestly effective. 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. Though most studies even until early 21st century relate human body postures to various musculoskeletal conditions , recent researches show no potential causal relationship between postures and these conditions like back pain ; other causes like sleep deprivation , stress and long-term physical inactivity or prolonged static unnatural postural stress could be significant confounders for various health conditions. However some research show that prolonged slouched position may be
368-410: The other. The upper body can be held upright, recline to either side or backward, or one can lean forward. There are many seated positions in various traditions and rituals. Four examples are: In various mythologies and folk magic, sitting is a magical act that connects the person who sits with other persons, states or places. The kneeling chair (often just referred to as " ergonomic chair")
391-421: The pain, and not really a postural problem. iHunch is 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 a common misconception that sitting in one good sitting position will allay the negative effects of sitting. Sedentary behaviour
414-446: The provision of adjustable desks in the workplace. In general, there is conflicting evidence regarding the precise risks of sitting for long periods. A 2018 Cochrane review found low-quality evidence that providing employees with a standing desk option may reduce the length of time some people sit at work in the first year. This reduction in sitting may decrease with time, and there is no evidence that standing desks are effective in
437-530: The use of cinchona bark (from which quinine is derived) in the treatment of malaria . His most important contribution to medicine was his book on occupational diseases , De Morbis Artificum Diatriba ("Diseases of Workers"). Ramazzini was born in Carpi on 4 October 1633 according to his birth certificate. He studied medicine at the University of Parma , where his interest in occupational diseases began. He
460-618: The word seat is in the 13th century. For someone seated, the 'buttock popliteal' length is the horizontal distance from the rearmost part of the buttocks to the back of the lower leg . This anthropometric measurement is used to determine seat depth. Mass-produced chairs typically use a depth of 15 to 16 inches (38.1 to 40.6 cm). Sit 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. The average person sits down for 4.7 hours per day, according to
483-534: Was appointed to the chair of theory of medicine at University of Modena in 1682 then served as professor of medicine at the University of Padua from 1700 until his death. He is often called "the father of occupational medicine " The first edition of De Morbis was published in 1700 in Modena, the second in 1713 in Padua. His book on occupational diseases, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba ( Diseases of Workers ) outlined
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#1732841567328506-432: Was designed to motivate better posture than the conventional chair. 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., the human position as both sitting and kneeling at the same time. In 1700, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba listed sitting in odd postures as a cause of diseases in "chair-workers". Current studies indicate there
529-540: Was toxic and ineffective, but Ramazzini recognized its importance. He is quoted, "It [quinine] did for medicine what gun powder did for war." In 1713, Bernardino Ramazzini said that nuns developed breast cancer at a higher rate than married women, because they did not engage in sexual intercourse , and the "unnatural" lack of sexual activity caused instability of the breast tissues that sometimes developed into breast cancer. Ramazzini died in Padua on 5 November 1714. In
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