Sitting disease

Sitting is a basic human resting position. The body weight is supported primarily by the in contact with the ground or a horizontal object such as a chair seat. The torso is more or less upright. Sitting for much of the day may pose significant health risks, and people who sit regularly for prolonged periods have higher mortality rates than those who do not.

The form of kneeling where the thighs are near horizontal and the buttocks sit back on the heels, for example as in Seiza and Vajrasana (yoga), is also often interpreted as sitting.

The British Chiropractic Association said in 2006 that 32% of the British population spent more than ten hours per day sitting down.

The most common ways of sitting on the floor involve bending the knees. One can also sit with the legs unbent, using something solid as support for the back or leaning on one's arms. Sitting with bent legs can be done with the legs mostly parallel or by crossing them over each other.

A common cross-legged position is with the lower part of both legs folded towards the body, crossing each other at the ankle or calf, with both ankles on the floor, sometimes with the feet tucked under the knees or thighs. The position is known in several European languages as , from the traditional working posture of tailors; compare tailor's bunion. It is also named after various plains-dwelling nomads: in American English , in many European languages "Turkish style", and in Japanese agura (, The sitting style of non-Han ethnics (particularly Turks, Mongols and other Central Asians.)). In yoga it is known as sukhasana.

Most raised surfaces at the appropriate height can be used as for humans, whether they are made for the purpose, such as chairs, stools and benches, or not. While the buttocks are nearly always rested on the raised surface, there are many differences in how one can hold one's legs and back.

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