When it comes to work in this day and age, the vast majority of us spend huge chunks of our day sitting behind a desk – but is all this sitting actually causing your behind to get bigger? It could be…
Some new research from Tel Aviv University has found that repeated sitting for long periods of time, can cause the shrinkage and break down of muscles which are found in the backside area. Apparently, fat cells thrive in the bums of people who are inactive and these cells cause thick layers of fat to develop inside muscle tissue.
The result, ladies, is a condition which has been dubbed “desk derriere.” It’s not pretty and it’s not nice, but when you work a desk job, just what can you do to prevent it?
“The hip flexor muscles, found at the front of the hip, become overactive and tight if an individual spends all day sitting,” said Chris Jones, the head of Physiology at Nuffield Health.
“In response, the three key muscles that give the buttocks their shape – the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus – become less responsive and generally underactive, leading to poor muscle tone,” he added.
The research from Tel Aviv University showed that preadipocyte cells (cells that eventually turn into fat) which were exposed to repeated sitting, turned into fat twice as quickly as regular cells.
Sitting for long periods of time could result in a bigger behind.
“The results suggest that if you sit down for a long time, you are more likely to store fat in your bottom. They also imply that the width of a bottom may be increased by sitting down,” said Professor Amit Gefen, who oversaw the study.
“When our work was published, many experts contacted me to say they had seen this phenomenon in obese patients,” he added.
Do you want the worse bit of news? Us ladies are especially prone to storing fat in the bum area, because of an enzyme called ‘lipoprotein lipase’ which dictates where fat settles in the body. Women store more fat around the hip/bum area, while fellas tend to store it around the waist.
If you think you have a case of “desk derriere” then one of the ways you can combat it is by upping your exercise routine. Make squats and running your new BFFs and blast that dose of desk-arse pronto!
