How long do you spend sitting each day? Perhaps you have a lengthy commute to a job in which you are then desk-bound for hours. Follow that up with an evening in front of the television and you could be twice as likely to die early. That’s quite a shocking statement, but with more and more reports proving the link between prolonged sitting and our health, it is time we stood up and took notice.
Studies reveal that adults spend up to 60 per cent of their day in sedentary pursuits – that’s not even including time spent asleep. Moreover, it seems that simply hitting the gym a few times a week is not enough to reduce the risks.
“Research suggests that remaining seated for too long is bad for our health, regardless of how much we exercise,” says Dr Feras Bader, staff physician at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. “As well as the impact it has on our spinal health, one of the biggest pieces of research to date [involving about 800,000 people] has revealed that sitting increases our chance of death through cardiovascular events by 90 per cent. A sedentary lifestyle is also associated with a 112 per cent increased risk of getting diabetes.”
If we had the ability to scan the body of someone who spends more than half their day sitting down, we would be shocked at the findings. In addition to the pressure and damage that poor posture and prolonged sitting places on our joints, we would witness a slowing down of metabolism and the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and break down fat. Besides the most obvious result – obesity – too much sitting can, in the long term, narrow our respiratory organs, reduce blood circulation due to vein compression and negatively affect our blood pressure regulation.
“The body is meant to move. Movement is life,” says Dr Charles Jones, from California Chiropractic and Sports Medicine Center in Dubai. “Without it, we get muscle atrophy, weakening of the bones or osteoporosis, pooling of the blood in the extremities, sluggish digestion and a higher likelihood of diabetes and weakening of the heart. We are now seeing osteoporosis and degenerative joint disease of the spine as early as the late-teens, due to a total lack of physical fitness. This was unheard of 30 years ago. Osteoporosis was also typically only found in post-menopausal women and men over the age of 75, while degenerative arthritis was not seen until the late 50s and 60s,” says Jones.
“We are now seeing these problems much earlier due to a lack of physical exertion coupled with poor dietary habits. The statement ‘sitting is the new smoking’ is absolutely true – this is the first generation that is expected to have a shorter lifespan than its predecessor.”
The whole sit-down debate first came to light in the 1950s, when researchers discovered London bus drivers were twice as likely to have a heart attack than their conductor colleagues. More than 30,000 were screened, with the report concluding that the drivers’ sedentary roles placed them at a much higher risk of having a heart attack than the conductors, who spent most of the day on their feet. Today, however, it is not just drivers and sit-down office workers who are under threat. In this digital era, many of us are spending more time hunched over computers, tablets and smartphones than ever before.
“Digital technology has become such an integral part of life from a very young age, including here in the UAE, where 40 per cent of adolescents live an increasingly sedentary lifestyle,” says Dr Nader M Hebela, staff physician at the Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. “This sedentary way of life can negatively impact the health of our spine. In fact, almost 65 per cent of people with an average age of 35 years have lower-back pain in the UAE, and the biggest factors are a lack of exercise, obesity and sedentary behaviour.”Ben Corrigan, chief executive and founder of the consultancy firm Bluehaus Group, says encouraging movement in the workplace has been a priority for his company right from the very beginning. All 55 of his employees use “sit-stand” desks, which enable them to quickly convert their sitting workstation into an upright one that they can stand and work in front of.
“We believe strongly in staff well-being and ergonomics,” he says. “In some parts of the world, companies over a certain size are legally obliged to provide sit-stand desks for their staff because they have seen the relationship between staff illness and back problems and productivity.”
Corrigan says that being in the business of workplace design and consultancy also means his company must lead by example. “For us, it makes sense and we have seen the benefits. When we design offices, we encourage our clients to consider stand-up meeting rooms, even if they are not willing to invest in sit-stand desks.”
Emma Flanagan, a purchasing manager, says that while her role in retail fashion might sound glamorous, she spends most of it in front of her computer, sitting in meetings or in the car. “I started wearing a fitness tracker to see how many steps I was taking and I was shocked to find I’d taken only 4,000 by 3pm – well under the recommended 10,000 a day. This really spurred me on to make a change. The band buzzes every hour to remind me to get up and move, and I like to do yoga stretches throughout my working day – mainly hip and back releases, as this is where I find I hold the most tension.”
As well as squeezing in an early-morning swim on her way to work, Flanagan tries to run twice a week, something she says can easily boost her steps by 6,000. When on site in the UAE’s malls, she strides out in trainers and walks up escalators before rounding off each evening by massaging her muscles with a foam roller while watching TV. “Some of my colleagues think I am a little mad, but they are now very used to seeing me on my feet and moving. I honestly feel so much better for it – physically and mentally – and couldn’t imagine a day where I just sit around anymore.”
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5