I would like to hear more about a 'sitting scientist's' credentials. I agree exercise is healthy, and it does seem like it very well might not be optimal to be planted in one place every day, but it seems that I'm always hearing tales of woe about what we do, what we eat, etc.

The actual study was published in the medical journal, Annals of Internal Medicine (2015 DOI 10.7326M14-1651), and was a meta-study. The Senior Author was Dr. David Alter, Sr. Scientist, Toronto Rehab & Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, & Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, and the others involved were associated with the University of Toronto, Canada.

According to Dr. Alter, "More than 1/2 of an average person's day is spent being sedentary, sitting, watching tv or working on a computer." I'm pretty sure when the Good Dr. was talking about "day", he was likely not including normal sleep time.

This has been in the news for a year or so. I question it. I'm not saying that it's good for you of course, but truck-drivers have been around for several decades and they drive hours on end. So do pilots, and other transportation operators.

With the advent of the internet and email and cell phones, office workers don't need to walk to other people to give them documents, etc.

I sit too much. I used to be a welder and stood all day.

Ever since a doctor told me, " sitting is the new smoking," I try to stay on my feet more.

Oops, truck drivers not the best example; they are infamous for having back and neck problems. My poor neighbor is such an example himself and has talked at length about those issues amongst his peers.

Pilots fall into a similar category, as do bus drivers and cab drivers.

My chiropractor agrees with the 'sitting scientists'. He also says that one of the best preventive exercises against chronic back aches is walking....taking long strides "like you're going somewhere". ;-)

I know that I sit too much but try to stay active throughout the day and evening. I'm always painfully creaky when I first get up but it eases up after a few seconds of doing something.

My sitting hours have tripled over the past year, unfortunately.

DH is a truck driver of over 40 years, still driving. He has no neck or back problems but does have carpal tunnel and very bad varicose veins in his right leg.

Standing in place is worse than sitting in my opinion. Walking is best. Most people who have jobs that pay well spend the greater part of the day either sitting or standing. Most walking jobs are in retail or food service. I believe sitting is better than standing as long as you take time to stretch and burn calories with plenty of exercise at other times.

I had office jobs for many years. I was up and around a lot though only after my right hip was replaced. I try to sit for only short times at the computer, I rarely watch TV. I have been outside a lot in the gardens until last week, when we moved to a "community" in Florida where gardening is restricted,

I agree with Watchmelol. I know I sit too much, so I tried a standing desk. It was awful! When I'm working on art, I might be pretty much standing in one area, but it's while constantly moving around, and that's fine. Standing to do office/computer work is far worse than sitting on the aches and pains. I tried to combine it with a small elliptical device, but that moved my eyes up and down too much and I couldn't maintain focus on the work.

I do have an "active" chair, which doesn't cut off circulation to the legs, and does promote movement. I don't have back problems or other musculoskeletal problems from it. When I read all the news reports on how bad sitting was for you a few years ago, however, I thought they were talking about for general good health, the cardiovascular, and perhaps the alimentary system, rather than positional injuries. Unfortunately, as it said in an old novel about an older Spanish lady, I have a great talent for stillness. Perhaps it's the counterpoint to all those years dancing...

I sit far tooooo much....but when a person is very limited on walking and standing and no stooping, what else is there to do?...darned permanent nerve damage! Before this happened 8 years ago, I walked 3-4 miles a day and danced several hours a night twice a week..really miss doing that....and it was so good for weight control....

WAY TO MUCH! specially on those long days on the bike. LOL

Last week, I did 70 miles on the bike, aka, 4 hours, 56 minutes! LOL

I'm not going to say whether sitting is bad, but the problem here is with the phrasing...

"... sitting was the worst position for a person's body, and that
even exercising a couple hours after work at the gym didn't negate its
damage."

Sorry, but that sentence is meaningless. Worse than what? Headstands? Standing on 1 foot, with the other foot draped around your neck? And what is the supposed time you were sitting if hours at the gym "didn't negate its
damage"? 20 hours? 2 mins.?

The other phrase from a comment that is sad for any professional to say is... "sitting is the new smoking..." What?!! A doctor is using phraseology that compares the affects of sitting to to the affects of smoking? If he is trying to say that the health community is hoping to bring attention to sedentary lifestyles, well fine... but to compare it to smoking? They should be ashamed!

Is it healthier, and 'better' for your body if you live an active lifestyle? Within reason of your personal conditions, of course it is! Is it better to sit or lounge in ways that put less strain on your back, joints, bones? Sure. But, come on, if "a couple hours at the gym" isn't enough to correct the damage from sitting, what exactly does this doctor recommend you do when you are done with working out? Run a marathon? Have you ever worked out a few hours at the gym? Know what you do? You sit down. And people use this lazy wording while sitting in front of their patients, or their computers.

I gotta wonder if this is supposed to be a way of 'scaring' people into being more active.

I sit a lot, but I walk the dogs three miles a day, and run two miles on the treadmill .So he's saying my five miles a day are negated by sitting watching movies and shows on TV and at the computer? Comparing it to smoking which I never did? Ridiculous.

Don't know about the "smoking" doctor, but I think Dr. Alter's main point was one's sitting position should be BROKEN UP FREQUENTLY with getting up & moving. I've worked in enough offices over 40 years, mostly pre-computer, to see that many, many people, even back then, sat at their desks, sat at their desks, sat at their desks, with maybe a bathroom break. I'm sure with people's current fascination with their computer screens, their numbers are still legion.

And here I thought standing on your head was A Good Idea... I'll bet Dr. Alter would even go for it.

At least sitting isn't going to cause anyone to die from "second hand sitting". :)

I'm sitting a lot because I broke my ankle. So, hey, as I grow more and more better at "not sitting", I'll sit less. Meanwhile, I'm not worrying about it.