The Hazards of Sitting
Research proves that the average person is spending half of their waking day sitting in a chair and it's slowly killing them. To combat this trend, a Calgary based company is looking to tackle this issue from ‘behind’.
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+.
The Hazards of Sitting
Calgary company promotes active sitting
CALGARY, AB – Research proves that the average person is spending half of their waking day sitting in a chair and it’s slowly killing them. To combat this trend, a Calgary based company is looking to tackle this issue from ‘behind’.
Long periods of time spent sitting at work or at school have been linked to chronic conditions like low back pain, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and some cancers. Fitter International Inc. President and CEO, Louis Stack, believes the solution is to ‘revive the 9 to 5′ by introducing the concept of an active workplace.
“Active sitting is using an actively moving surface to take the place of a conventional chair. That means replacing a chair with an active sitting tool like an exercise ball chair, sitting disc or Swopper chair. An unstable surface increases blood flow to your lower back, lubricates your spine and improves your posture,” says Stack. “Office workers find that once they’ve strengthened their postural muscles using an active sitting product, their back pain eases and they are able to be more productive and focused in the workplace.”
Since Fitterfirst stormed onto the scene 27 years ago, they have become a world leader in balance and rehabilitation products. Their wobble boards, foam rollers and exercise balls have become staples in gyms, fitness centres and physiotherapy clinics around the world. Although, it has only been recently that active sitting products have started flying off the shelves as public awareness of the hazards of sitting has increased. Since day one, Stack has made active sitting a focal point for his business.
“The average person may have about an hour to exercise each day. That’s only 4% of your day and it’s not enough! We need to focus on making our non-leisure time, the time spent at work or in front of a computer, as active as possible. I strongly believe that sitting can be as hazardous as smoking and that we need to address it in the workplace.â€
For more information about Fitterfirst, please visit www.fitter1.com.
– 30 –
Contact Information:
John Reid
Public Relations
Fitter International Inc.
T: 403-243-6830
F : 403-229-1230
E-mail: pr@fitter1.com