Sitting is the new smoking...

[Foot Fetish]

So, apparently sitting for prolonged periods of time is terrible for you according to a lot of recent studies...it correlates with a significantly higher rate of mortality, particularly via heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer...And to make matters worse, the risk is not negated by exercise.

How do you deal with this as a diagnostic radiologist, a job which requires you to basically sit down all day? This is one of the main things preventing me from pursuing radiology. Do any of you have standing desks?

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[meister]

We have standing desks and I take brief walks during the day so I don't become cemented to the chair.

 

[Radz123]

I'm having to suffer through DR in my journey to IR and I am not surprised by the piling evidence against sitting for prolonged periods of time. You start to feel like a caged animal sitting in a little dark room all day. I don't know how the diagnostic guys can do it.

 

[meister]

That's funny 'cause I think the same thing about the IR guys standing with full body lead all day like astronauts.

For me it's tolerable with nice coffee and some quiet music in the background.

 

[GadRads]

So, apparently sitting for prolonged periods of time is terrible for you according to a lot of recent studies...it correlates with a significantly higher rate of mortality, particularly via heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer...And to make matters worse, the risk is not negated by exercise.

How do you deal with this as diagnostic radiologist, a job which requires you to basically sit down all day? This is one of the main things preventing me from pursuing radiology. Do any of you have standing desks?

Did this study take into consideration the degree of exercise intensity? I think this is important.

 

[DrBowtie]

That's funny 'cause I think the same thing about the IR guys standing with full body lead all day like astronauts.

For me it's tolerable with nice coffee and some quiet music in the background.

This. Almost all the older IR guys have terrible necks and backs.

 

[Radz123]

We have a 9 man interventional practice and none of them have bad necks/backs.

 

[Fundamentals]

So, apparently sitting for prolonged periods of time is terrible for you according to a lot of recent studies...it correlates with a significantly higher rate of mortality, particularly via heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer...And to make matters worse, the risk is not negated by exercise.

How do you deal with this as diagnostic radiologist, a job which requires you to basically sit down all day? This is one of the main things preventing me from pursuing radiology. Do any of you have standing desks?

could you hit us with some links to these studies

 

[Foot Fetish]

We have a 9 man interventional practice and none of them have bad necks/backs.

The musculoskeletal stuff is the least of my worries. I am worried about cardiovascular disease. Apparently sitting for prolonged periods of time significantly increases your risk, and it can't be undone by exercise.

could you hit us with some links to these studies

Here are a few. I don't want it to be true, but there seems to be a lot of evidence...As a medical student, I'm already sitting 8+ hours per day studying, and now I want to enter the specialty that sits more than anyone

Should we start a movement to get standing (or at least adjustable) desks for all radiologists?

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2091327

"Conclusion: Prolonged sedentary time was independently associated with deleterious health outcomes regardless of physical activity."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20837291

"The majority of prospective studies found that occupational sitting was associated with a higher risk of DM and mortality."

http://revdesportiva.pt/files/form_cont/Sitting_Time_and_Mortality_from_All_Causes.pdf

These data demonstrate a dose–response association between sitting time and mortality from all causes and CVD, independent of leisure time physical activity. In addition to the promotion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight, physicians should discourage sitting for extended periods."

 

[badasshairday]

Do interventional radiology. Problem solved.

 

[Cognovi]

I saw a treadmill desk in one of the reading rooms at NYU.

 

[Fundamentals]

The musculoskeletal stuff is the least of my worries. I am worried about cardiovascular disease. Apparently sitting for prolonged periods of time significantly increases your risk, and it can't be undone by exercise.



Here are a few. I don't want it to be true, but there seems to be a lot of evidence...As a medical student, I'm already sitting 8+ hours per day studying, and now I want to enter the specialty that sits more than anyone

Should we start a movement to get standing (or at least adjustable) desks for all radiologists?

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2091327

"Conclusion: Prolonged sedentary time was independently associated with deleterious health outcomes regardless of physical activity."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20837291

"The majority of prospective studies found that occupational sitting was associated with a higher risk of DM and mortality."

http://revdesportiva.pt/files/form_cont/Sitting_Time_and_Mortality_from_All_Causes.pdf

These data demonstrate a dose–response association between sitting time and mortality from all causes and CVD, independent of leisure time physical activity. In addition to the promotion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight, physicians should discourage sitting for extended periods."

Thanks for these. Yeah I also want to go into DR and this isnt the most encouraging. Though I do think there are some gaps in the data, a treadmill desk or bicycle desk in the future to get through those mammo or plain film days may go a long way in health outcomes.

 

[Foot Fetish]

Do interventional radiology. Problem solved.

That comes with its own risks, namely radiation exposure. I want to be a DR guy through and through. When I'm done with residency, I want to spend the rest of my career in an office, far away from radioactive substances.

 

[Radz123]

I will say the counter argument against IR would be working long hours or getting up in the middle of the night which is also detrimental to health. That being said there is no doubt in my mind I feel healthier after a long day in the angio suite than after a day of staring at a screen in the dark.

 

[badasshairday]

Diagnostic radiology by itself just doesn't do it for me. Too much cataloging for me. Bookeeping like 95% of the time and routine cases with occasional big calls and interesting cases which keeps things exciting for some folks. It seriously lacks professional satisfaction for those who don't loathe seeing patients. Need to switch it up and do some interventional work to keep things interesting. But that's just me.

 

[Foot Fetish]

Diagnostic radiology by itself just doesn't do it for me. Too much cataloging for me. Bookeeping like 95% of the time and routine cases with occasional big calls and interesting cases which keeps things exciting for some folks. It seriously lacks professional satisfaction for those who don't loathe seeing patients. Need to switch it up and do some interventional work to keep things interesting. But that's just me.

How do I know if I loathe seeing patients? Seriously? I am but a fledgling M1, but I am pretty introverted. As of now, my current specialty considerations include rads and anesthesiology. At the same time, I can be outgoing when I need to be, so patient contact is not necessarily a huge consideration. Rads would be damn fine if there wasn't the question of occupational risk...but at the same time, have you guys seen the Charting the Match 2016??? Why the hell is radiology becoming so noncompetitive? The salary is still among the highest in medicine, and the avg. Step is still relatively quite high at 240...but psychiatry is literally more competitive according to the latest data. The match rate indicates that rads is one of the least competitive specialties in medicine as of 2016....what the heck?

 

[jorts42]

How do I know if I loathe seeing patients? Seriously? I am but a fledgling M1, but I am pretty introverted. As of now, my current specialty considerations include rads and anesthesiology. At the same time, I can be outgoing when I need to be, so patient contact is not necessarily a huge consideration. Rads would be damn fine if there wasn't the question of occupational risk...but at the same time, have you guys seen the Charting the Match 2016??? Why the hell is radiology becoming so noncompetitive? The salary is still among the highest in medicine, and the avg. Step is still relatively quite high at 240...but psychiatry is literally more competitive according to the latest data. The match rate indicates that rads is one of the least competitive specialties in medicine as of 2016....what the heck?

you'll know how you feel about seeing patients when you're an M3. Psych is more competitive but it's self selection. The psych step 1 and AOA percentage are still far below the radiology numbers.

If you're still an MS1, just do the best you can academically and you'll figure out where you fit later

 

[GadRads]

I don't have access to the full-length article, but investigators must also consider weight, abdomen-to-waist ratio, and importantly diet. It is easy to consume 300 calories, but it takes a lot of effort to expend that energy through exercise. I wager that if you control for diet and exercise, these risks would disappear. Many people claim they eat healthy, but their statements do not match up with reality.

The musculoskeletal stuff is the least of my worries. I am worried about cardiovascular disease. Apparently sitting for prolonged periods of time significantly increases your risk, and it can't be undone by exercise.



Here are a few. I don't want it to be true, but there seems to be a lot of evidence...As a medical student, I'm already sitting 8+ hours per day studying, and now I want to enter the specialty that sits more than anyone

Should we start a movement to get standing (or at least adjustable) desks for all radiologists?

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2091327

"Conclusion: Prolonged sedentary time was independently associated with deleterious health outcomes regardless of physical activity."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20837291

"The majority of prospective studies found that occupational sitting was associated with a higher risk of DM and mortality."

http://revdesportiva.pt/files/form_cont/Sitting_Time_and_Mortality_from_All_Causes.pdf

These data demonstrate a dose–response association between sitting time and mortality from all causes and CVD, independent of leisure time physical activity. In addition to the promotion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight, physicians should discourage sitting for extended periods."

 

[Director1]

Have a really nice article on this issue and how residents/attendings can make sure to prevent the consequences...

http://radsresident.com/2016/09/23/radiology-resident-get-up-and-move-it/

So, apparently sitting for prolonged periods of time is terrible for you according to a lot of recent studies...it correlates with a significantly higher rate of mortality, particularly via heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer...And to make matters worse, the risk is not negated by exercise.

How do you deal with this as a diagnostic radiologist, a job which requires you to basically sit down all day? This is one of the main things preventing me from pursuing radiology. Do any of you have standing desks?

 

[PL198]

dude you're pondering the craziest stuff for a first year.

sitting is so evil. god forbid you exercise like 30 min - 1 per day which likely mitigates the risk of your job.

see the craziest stuff on this site i swear

 

[Cognovi]

dude you're pondering the craziest stuff for a first year.

sitting is so evil. god forbid you exercise like 30 min - 1 per day which likely mitigates the risk of your job.

see the craziest stuff on this site i swear

It's like you didn't even read the original post that said episodic exercise does not negate the risk of a sedentary job.

 

[PL198]

It's like you didn't even read the original post that said episodic exercise does not negate the risk of a sedentary job.

Because 1 study says so? Pretty poor analysis especially for someone so into ebm

Maybe for low intensity stuff like walking. Doubt it for weightlifting or high intensity activity

 

[Cognovi]

Because 1 study says so? Pretty poor analysis especially for someone so into ebm

Maybe for low intensity stuff like walking. Doubt it for weightlifting or high intensity activity

I'm pointing out you didn't address the original comment when making your claim.