Sitting disease?

Pura Vida said:

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This is interesting and something I can relate too. Obviously I cannot prove that too much sitting caused me to become diabetic, however, that was the only thing that changed for me. When I was diagnosed my diet hadn’t changed, my blood pressure was still good as was my cholesterol, only difference was that I changed jobs and went from being fairly active to almost sedentary so there might be some truth in this.

This I can also relate to. My GP reckoned having to work from home afternoons, evenings and weekends (plus office working in the mornings) all in front of a pc (sitting for up to 10 hours a day to earn a crust, although I tried to break up the time, even if just to run down stairs to make a cuppa or go outside for a few minutes), together with genetic links, was most likely the cause as, like @jayney27, my cholesterol and bp were fine. Perhaps those who yell "it's your fault you have T2, you obviously laze around on a couch watching tv all day" should instead think about how the workplace nowadays has changed out of all recognition to that of, say 50 years ago. Or rather how the computer has had such a huge effect on health.

Sue192 said:

This I can also relate to. My GP reckoned having to work from home afternoons, evenings and weekends (plus office working in the mornings) all in front of a pc (sitting for up to 10 hours a day to earn a crust, although I tried to break up the time, even if just to run down stairs to make a cuppa or go outside for a few minutes), together with genetic links, was most likely the cause as, like @jayney27, my cholesterol and bp were fine. Perhaps those who yell "it's your fault you have T2, you obviously laze around on a couch watching tv all day" should instead think about how the workplace nowadays has changed out of all recognition to that of, say 50 years ago. Or rather how the computer has had such a huge effect on health.

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I totally agree, it’s quite upsetting when you read and hear such negative comments about being lazy and overweight as a cause for diabetes, I wasn’t and am not lazy but my job made me sedentary for a large part of my working day. Thankfully I have just taken on a new role which will enable me to be more active plus I now do more exercise since diagnoses than before. I would dearly love to not be diabetic, but I am, however I am now better informed about health and exercise and I am fitter, healthier and lighter as a result. We may not be able to make changes to our jobs and work places but we can make changes to our diet and lifestyle to achieve control of our futures.

Yet my wife who has worked all her adult life in offices for the most part sitting at a desk is not diabetic and has a healthy BP level. Go figure.

Pura Vida said:

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I couldn't find this research on the PLOS website. While I don't doubt that any movement is better than none, I would be interested in seeing more detail. I spent many years in office based employment but never had the luxury of sitting down for too long before moving.

I don't think it is Walking Deficiency or Doughnut Eating Disease either. As you become diabetic and less of your energy is being used by your cells but is instead handing around in your blood stream, you will naturally want to do less and eat more! That is a symptom and not a cause of diabetes. What is true is that exercise after a meal helps you to burn off excess carbs that would otherwise be stored as fat or cause further insulin resistance and exercise with weights increases your body's sensitivity too insulin. So a walk after lunch or to work might help as would lifting some heavy thngs occasionally. And yes we all know carb tolerant folks who are either annoyingly energetic or effortlessly slim in spite of their sedentary biscuit munching ways but ' it ain't me babe' and most of us just have to eat less carbs...You cannot exercise your way out of it whilst carb loading (Sir Steve Redgrave).

Well, I have no chance!

This smacks of 'eat less, move more' to me and as someone wise once said 'You can't outrun a bad diet' I won't be blaming my sedentary lifestyle for my diagnosis of T2.