If you are sitting all day at work, does gravity have more of an effect on your body or less or the same?

My wife is a graphic designer and she sits at her computer for hours on end each day and she’s told me that sitting for long peiods of time makes her bottom get bigger. I tend to disagree because it appears to be the same petite and attractive tush it was when I married her several years ago.

As far as maintaining an active lifestyle as part of your daily routine, that pretty much goes without saying. Your health is very important and you should never take it for granted.

The old term for that effect used to be “secretarial spread.”

I should imagine that anyone who really is affected in different ways by gravity is most likely an astronaut.

It isn’t gravity that is the problem for most of us. It is the sitting, because it means we aren’t out moving and using our muscles.

It’s also that person in the next cubicle who insists on bringing donuts to share.

I would think it depends on the chair. If you get a well designed office chair with good support I wouldn’t think it would affect you at all. Where if you sit at a wooden dining chair all day you will probably be in poor shape within a month.

The force gravity (from Earth) has on your depends on your distance from Earth. And there is no difference in distance between you sitting and you standing.

Your body looks worse from sitting too long because you start to hunch, your muscles lose tone, and you gain weight. So moving is a great idea! But won’t stop the gravity.

If I hung upside down a few hours a day, would that balance out some of the toll of gravity lol?

@johnny0313x – actually there is one effect of gravity on our bodies (although it isn’t made greater by sitting rather than standing). That is that over time the weight of our vertebrae gradually compress the disks in our backs, which is a part of the height loss we undergo as we age.

Many people swear by the hanging upside down bit to help regain the flexibility (and some of the height) lost by the constant downward pressure. It is called “Inversion Therapy” and folks have been doing it for centuries. However, it may not be all the supporters say it is:

“Inversion devices, according to Dr. Gary Brazina, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Los Angeles, don’t actually reverse the effects of gravity or increase the space between vertebrae, though they may temporarily extend the spine and briefly relieve muscle spasm. Potential side effects from hanging upside down include bleeding into the retina and headaches. It can also make some back problems, as well as hypertension, worse.” ( http://healing.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=healing&cdn=religion&tm=16&f=20&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//wellnessletter.com/html/wl/2001/wlAskExperts0901.html )

So actually the answer to your question appears to be some people think so.

oh wow who would have guessed haha…i mean i didn’t doubt the fact that people tried it but to think there was a name and all this supporting the idea haha i suppose the next question would have to be if I laid on my side often would 1/2 of my body hang more then the other 1/2