Is slouching as harmful for health as smoking? Experts answer

It’s official. Thanks to all the tech we use, slouching is now an epidemic. Erectile dysfunction, poor cognitive function, and cardiovascular diseases are just some of the maladies awaiting you if your back doesn’t straighten up

IF you were taking sly solace in the fact that you don’t smoke, and hence may be slightly healthier than the smoker in your office, we are here to burst that bubble. It’s highly possible that you slouch—bend over your desk or phone—if you are sitting for long periods of time… and it could be as bad as smoking. If you are sitting, ergo slouching six to eight hours a day, research says it increases chances of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and back pain. “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death,” is what James Levine, Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, told LA Times in an interview, and it’s been haunting us since. “The chair is out to kill us.”

In the US, thanks to Beth Linker—medicine and disability historian and author of Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America—slouching has been declared an epidemic. She calls it a “widespread social contagion of slumping that could have deleterious effects upon individual health, and the body politic”. In fact, when archaeologists and natural scientists began connecting the evolutionary relationship between Homo sapiens and other primates in the latter half of the nineteenth century, they asked the question what came first: Upright walking or higher cognition? The dominant view was that the evolution of the human brain preceded the development of bipedalism, leading some to wonder whether problems such as flat feet or scoliosis, were, in effect, the price of braininess.

Dr Anuj Tiwari, Dr Manan Vora and Dr Arjun Dhawale

And since our brain is still working overtime, we seem to be regressing. Dr Manan Vora, an orthopaedic surgeon, sports doctor, and health and longevity educator, agrees that India is also slouching, but doesn’t think that it is as bad as it is made out to be. “Laptops, computers, desk jobs have increased. It peaked during COVID-19 when people worked on laptops at home. Many didn’t have access to a proper desk, so they slouched on sofas and the bed,” he says. “I don’t think there is a bad or good posture, just poor posture habits formulated after being a particular position for long hours. This leads to spinal issues over time. Get up every hour when working, stretch, walk, and extend your spine—just for two minutes every working hour of the day.”

Sports science and rehab expert Nikhil Latey, founder of ProPhysio, says that though posture may have been the worst during COVID, he underlines the fact that everyone slouches. “Problems arise when it’s chronic; then there will be neck pain, pain in the rotator cuff, chest muscles will tire, and ligaments will bear the pressure. But the body is able to correct itself if caught in time.” 

Seven out of 10 of Vora’s patients complain of backache. No wonder then that a 2023 report in The Lancet found India to have an estimated 87.5 million cases of back pain. And lower back pain is said to be the leading cause of poor health all over the world. Dr Anuj Tiwari, physician and geriatrician, says that along with technology, obesity is also a big cause of slouching. “People don’t consult a doctor till it’s too late; then it becomes a chronic issue. There is very less motivation to get it fixed,” says Tiwari, adding that long-term problems with the back muscle and bending of the spine can lead to lung issues. Vora says bad posture could lead to erectile dysfunction, if coupled with weak pelvic floor muscles. “And though it’s not directly connected, research has shown that poor posture is connected to poor cognitive function and, hence, things such as bad moods and memory loss,” says Vora. 

Dr Arjun Dhawale, consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon, Department of Orthopaedics, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, says that there is more pressure on your spine when you sit and slouch. “It could be connected to heart disease and hypertension in younger people as well. All this can be prevented with early attention and correction,” he says. 

Take this as a warning.

Also Read: Physical inactivity on the rise: Experts share ways to incorporate exercise amid sedentary lifestyle and hectic schedules

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!