Charlotte L Edwardson associate professor in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and health, Tom Yates reader in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and health, Stuart J H Biddle professor of physical activity and health, Melanie J Davies professor of diabetes medicine, David W Dunstan head of the physical activity laboratory at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Dale W Esliger senior lecturer in the measurement of physical activity et al
Edwardson C L, Yates T, Biddle S J H, Davies M J, Dunstan D W, Esliger D W et al.
Effectiveness of the Stand More AT (SMArT) Work intervention: cluster randomised controlled trial
BMJ 2018; 363 :k3870
doi:10.1136/bmj.k3870
Re: Effectiveness of the Stand More AT (SMArT) Work intervention: cluster randomised controlled trial
Schemes aimed at improving daily activity levels are highly valuable, especially with the holiday season fast approaching I think we all expect for our waistbands to be a bit tighter come January. The annual rush of new gym memberships as people vow to stick to New Year’s resolutions and shed those few pounds. There is a wider problem than just a Christmas gorge, with alarming statistics released every year of the rising rates of obesity, and the future implications that this is going to have on generations to come.
The roots of this problem are extensive, but I wonder what we can do on a daily basis to tackle the global epidemic we are facing.
Have you ever noticed who you pass on the stairs? More importantly have you ever noticed who you share the lift with?
From my limited experience in lifts, I have noticed a startling association. There are those among us who will take the lift for a single floor, and those who will take it for five floors. What has become apparent, is the direct correlation between 'lift distance' and weight - the smaller the 'lift distance', the greater the weight of the individual.
It is the classic ‘chicken or the egg’ situation. Do people who take lifts for short distances become overweight because it is a reflection of their general motivation for activity; or are people forced to take a lift because their weight would mean climbing a flight of stairs would be quite a challenge, further compounding the issue.
To top it off, who do you pass in the stairwell? Normally they’re moving too fast as they take those stairs two at a time and whip past you, you can’t even see them!
There are important points to consider in the way we live our lives and the impact that this has on our general health. In a society where it is becoming easier to do less, which is down to our own genius and ingenuity, one can speculate that our wonderful advances may actually start the slow decline of the human race!
Competing interests: No competing interests