This morning at the gym, I was listening to a Podcast episode of Fitness Rocks. I often enjoy this podcast: he talks about real medical studies and "dumbs it down" so that non-doctors can understand the gist of the report.
So maybe I was just over-reacting to the episode I listened to today about the health risks posed by sitting too much. I was intrigued by the topic, because, as a software engineer, I sit all day. The research said that sitting for prolonged periods increased the blood-test indicators of risk for chronic diseases. People who got up and walked around every hour or so were better off than those who did not.
Fine, I can understand that and it makes sense. But, before he went into the above point, the show host felt the need to berate people who sit too much. He marveled that people could spend so much of their day just sitting. What was wrong with them? Didn't they know it was bad for them?
I reacted quite strongly to this berating, because I am one of those people who sits all day. Truth be told, I was listening to the podcast while on the stationary bike at the gym, which I go to about four days a week for an hour of exercise each day. So, I could have let it slide with, "well, clearly he's not talking about me." But he was. And it made me angry.
My first reaction was, "it's not my fault!" Show me a way to write computer programs while moving around! I already know about adjustable height desks and I wish I had one, but I don't. Or if playing computer games was where I spent all my time sitting, I might consider setting up stationary bike just for playing World of Warcraft.
My next reaction was, "damn, my job is bad for my health!" I had watched this video from the guy who hosts Dirty Jobs on Sunday, so maybe I needed to get a skill trade job instead. Maybe a job where I don't sit all day would be better for me.
Then he said that sitting for so long was unnatural. At that point I moved to defend my software trade because the "unnatural" argument just doesn't hold water for me. What is natural? Living in an animal skin hut in the dead of winter, hoping you'll get by on the dried bits of critter you saved from last fall? Having a root cellar so that by this time of year you're hoping the potatoes and root veggies last until spring? Dying of malnutrition, tooth abscess, or generally poor health?
I don't think so! If you go for the kind of "natural" vs. "unnatural" argument he is, then eating fresh fruit in March in northern Pennsylvania is unnatural. But is bad for me? I doubt it. I know because I had the same kind of romanticised view of "natural" until Willie made me realize that not all things that are "unnatural" are bad. People who say things are "unnatural" are often just cherry-picking the best parts of our past and holding them up as examples of "a better life". At least the SCA admits they're making an idealized version of the past. I just wish people who make the "unnatural" argument would do the same.
I listened long enough to get the gist of the paper he was reviewing, but I was fit to be tied. Let me get this straight: in a podcast, a medium made popular by a high-tech device, available through the Internet, served by who knows how much infrastructure, downloaded on computers with modern operating systems, you have the gall to denigrate the sedentary workers who created your whole frickin' medium?
I probably stayed worked up about this for a good hour afterwards. Eventually, I calmed down and had to go back to my sedentary job making computer software. In all fairness, I did drink more water today with the express purpose of having to get up more often to use the bathroom. Because I care about my health, even with the unnatural life I lead.