AHS16 - Ancestral Health Symposium 2016

Chairs first emerged in prehistoric times as a way for high-status individuals to designate their social standing, and their use was almost exclusively the domain of the affluent class until the Industrial Revolution made affordable, mass-produced seating possible. Prior to this point, the vast majority of people sat on improvised objects such as beds, tree stumps, or benches, or simply squatted on their haunches. Social aspirations, continued technological innovations (e.g. the automobile), and a shift towards sedentary work drove the adoption of the chair until its use became ubiquitous at home, at work, at school, and at play (e.g. computer and video games). The average American now spends more than 10 hours a day seated, but excessive sitting is not without consequence. There is a growing body of scientific research that suggests that spending too much time seated is a contributing factor in the development of obesity, cardiovascular disease, orthopedic issues, and even cancer. In other words, chairs, and the sedentary behavior their presence promotes, represents an evolutionary mismatch similar to that of fast food, and in this presentation it will be proposed that exposing the body to a variety of movement patterns throughout the day (i.e. movement breaks) is an effective countermeasure to prolonged sitting and an effective way to reduce the risk of chronic disease.