Will sitting for a long time make you ugly? I was so scared that I stood up quickly

Recently, there is a hot topic called #It turns out that sitting for a long time will make people ugly#, and this topic is very suitable for those born in the 80s and 90s who sit for a long time and worry about their appearance. But don’t worry, this is false. You know, most people may not know the definition of "sitting for a long time" and think that they will become ugly if they sit for a while, but in fact it is not necessarily the case.

(Too long to read version: Sitting for a long time will not make you ugly, the spine affects the temporomandibular joint but there is insufficient evidence, appearance is determined by genes but can be changed by external factors)

What is sitting for a long time?

"Sedentary" does not mean "long time sit down" but "sedentary". This word comes from the Latin word "sedere", which means sitting.

So how long is considered "long"? In fact, it is not calculated by time, but by a concept called "Metabolic Equivalent Tasks" (MET).

If the words are hard to understand, we can use numbers to express them: "1 MET" can be simply understood as the level of what we often call "basal metabolism" (resting metabolism); when we walk, our metabolism may increase, about twice that of the resting state, so walking is "2 METs". The general MET value range of humans is between 0.9 (sleeping) and 23 (sprinting at a speed of 22.5 km/h).

MET values ​​for different actions, information source: References

Since there is no standardized definition, the previous definition of "sedentary" is: any waking behavior characterized by energy expenditure "≤1.5 METs" while in a sitting, reclining or lying position.

Some researchers have also suggested that the definition of "sitting" should at least take into account the types and duration of current and past sedentary activities, current and past physical activity, the way sitting is measured, the interruption time of a single sedentary session, and age factors.

Effects of prolonged sitting

From a metabolic perspective, prolonged sitting reduces lipoprotein lipase, muscle glucose, and protein transporter activity, impairs lipid metabolism, and reduces carbohydrate metabolism. In addition, it reduces cardiac output and systemic blood flow, while activating the sympathetic nervous system, ultimately reducing insulin sensitivity and vascular function.

Many studies have shown that prolonged sitting can have a variety of adverse effects on health at the physiological level, such as increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even certain cancers. In addition, prolonged sitting may also have harmful effects on the psychological level, such as leading to depression, anxiety, or cognitive decline.

It seems that the harm of sitting for a long time is very serious, and it makes people anxious just by looking at it, but what is the truth?

In fact, whether at the physiological or psychological level, the results of different studies are not consistent. For example, some studies have found that long-term sitting has nothing to do with the risk of cardiovascular disease, while some studies lasting 13 years have refuted the association between long-term sitting and type 2 diabetes.

In addition to disease, six meta-analyses of studies on adults found that sitting for more than seven hours a day was associated with an increased risk of death, but another meta-analysis of data from more than a million men and women refuted this.

In short, the lack of a clear definition and contradictory research results cannot explain the problem, but most of the results suggest one thing: being more active is not only comfortable, but also healthy.

【Sitting for a long time will not make you ugly】

In this topic, someone seriously analyzed the direct impact of long-term sitting on the cervical spine, which in turn changes the facial shape (even those with chins become chinless or have double chins). The main issue mentioned in the content is "the relationship between head and neck posture and malocclusion."

This association can actually be referenced by a 2019 study, which analyzed 11 articles that met the criteria and pointed out that "there is a correlation between temporomandibular joint abnormalities and spinal dysfunction."

The possible impact of posture on the temporomandibular joint, source: References

Unfortunately, a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted at the end of last year showed that head and cervical spine posture may be associated with Class II and Class III malocclusion, but current evidence is insufficient to support this conclusion.

Therefore, this topic is actually far-fetched. It cannot be said that "sitting for a long time will make you ugly", but rather that "poor spinal condition may be related to temporomandibular joint abnormalities". However, there is "insufficient evidence" because of the low methodological quality, racial differences and small sample size, so the evidence is not sufficient at all.

So, don’t worry about becoming ugly from sitting for a long time, but find out the root causes and solutions for why your face looks good or bad.

So what is the reason for people becoming ugly (or are they ugly to begin with but don’t realize it)? In fact, the most important thing is genes, such as SNAI1, IRF6, MSX1, and MAFB are all related to the chin.

In addition, factors such as obesity (facial fat) and aging (tissue degeneration) may cause changes in facial conditions, which are not directly related to long-term sitting. On the contrary, studies have found that long-term sitting may be related to higher rates of myofascial pain syndrome in women, but have not found that it will make people ugly.

Finally, I want to say that beauty and ugliness are not unchangeable: fat people can lose weight, thin people can gain muscle, and cosmetics, clothing matching, and one's own conversation all affect one's image and temperament. The worst thing is the four magic arts - sex change, plastic surgery, makeup, and photo retouching.

Photo editing, source: purchased at own expense

Appearance is important, but it is not the only factor in measuring a person's value.

References:

1. Magnon, Valentin et al. “Sedentariness: A Need for a Definition.” Frontiers in public health vol. 6 372. 21 Dec. 2018, doi:10.3389/fpubh.2018.00372

2. Park, Jung Ha et al. “Sedentary Lifestyle: Overview of Updated Evidence of Potential Health Risks.” Korean journal of family medicine vol. 41,6 (2020): 365-373. doi:10.4082/kjfm.20.0165

3. Silveira, Erika Aparecida et al. “Sedentary behavior, physical inactivity, abdominal obesity and obesity in adults and older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Clinical nutrition ESPEN vol. 50 (2022): 63-73. doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2022.06.001

4. Haskell, William L et al. “Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association.” Circulation vol. 116,9 (2007): 1081-93. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.185649

5. Larson-Meyer, D Enette. “A Systematic Review of the Energy Cost and Metabolic Intensity of Yoga.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 48,8 (2016): 1558-69. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000922

6. Jetté, M et al. “Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity.” Clinical cardiology vol. 13,8 (1990): 555-65. doi:10.1002/clc.4960130809

7. Sambataro, Sergio et al. “TMJ Dysfunctions Systemic Implications and Postural Assessments: A Review of Recent Literature.” Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology vol. 4,3 58. 19 Aug. 2019, doi:10.3390/jfmk4030058

8. Peng, Houli et al. “Does head and cervical posture correlate to malocclusion? A systematic review and meta-analysis.” PloS one vol. 17,10 e0276156. 25 Oct. 2022, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0276156

9. Golanska, Paulina et al. "Temporomandibular Myofascial Pain Syndrome-Aetiology and Biopsychosocial Modulation. A Narrative Review." International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 18,15 7807. 23 Jul. 2021, doi:10.3390/ijerph18157807

May the world be free of epidemics

=Pill=

Disclaimer: This article was created out of personal interest, only to allow more ordinary people to have a clearer understanding of vaccines. The content and views do not represent any organization, unit, or institution, and it has not accepted any form of sponsorship. All pictures are from public online platforms and purchased at my own expense. If the content is incorrect, please do more self-criticism (not).