Hello everyone, this is Fujii from NEULO.
Last time, I introduced some research and case studies on the relationship between walking and memory.
This time I'd like to shift the theme slightly and think about the relationship between "sitting" and the body.
Out of the blue: have you ever heard the term "sarcopenia"?
Sarcopenia refers to the loss of muscle mass, strength, and physical function that comes with aging, among other causes. It's generally discussed as a health issue for older adults, so many people probably think, "That has nothing to do with me — I'm still young."
I used to have that same impression myself. But recent research suggests it isn't only an issue for older adults.
"I'm still young, so I'm fine" — is that really true?
A study by Li et al. (2025) analyzed the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sarcopenia among 7,869 adults aged 18 to 59.(*1)
The results showed that for every additional hour of sitting time, the odds ratio associated with sarcopenia was 1.05, while for every additional hour of physical activity, the odds ratio was 0.94.
In other words, this study found a positive association between longer sitting time and sarcopenia, and a negative association between higher physical activity and sarcopenia.
Of course, this single study doesn't prove a causal relationship — that more sitting time causes sarcopenia. It's a cross-sectional study, so that point needs care.
Still, what I found interesting about this research is that the subjects weren't limited to older adults — they were 18 to 59 years old.
When we hear the word "sarcopenia," we tend to think, "That's something to worry about once I'm older."
But at least in the research world, the relationship between daily physical activity, sedentary behavior, and muscle condition is being studied across younger age groups too.
Maybe now — while we still think "I'm young, so I'm fine" — is exactly the moment to think about our own bodies.
When thinking about muscle, is "exercise" the only thing that matters?
There's another study I find interesting.
Mo et al. (2023) conducted a meta-analysis combining data from 17 studies covering 25,788 people aged 60 and over.(*2)
The results showed that the more sedentary behavior a person had, the stronger the association with sarcopenia, and a significant association between sedentary behavior and sarcopenia was confirmed.
This association held even in analyses that accounted for factors such as the amount of physical activity.
What this makes me think about is that when considering the body, it may not be enough to ask only "how much did I exercise?" — "how much do I normally sit?" might be an equally important angle to consider.
Of course, since this study's subjects were older adults, its results can't simply be applied to younger generations as they are.
Still, it seems that "moving the body" and "sitting" shouldn't be considered separately — they need to be thought about together, as part of how an entire day is spent.
With that in mind, I'd like to take a moment to look back at our own daily lives.
So how much do Japanese people actually sit?
In the morning, you get on the train.
Once you arrive at the office, you sit at your desk.
You sit in meetings too.
You eat lunch, then sit back down.
In the afternoon you're at your computer, and once work ends, you take the train home.
Even after getting home, you eat, sit on the sofa, and look at your phone.
Thinking about it this way, for many people, the time spent "sitting" over the course of a day is overwhelmingly longer than the time spent "walking."
In fact, Japan is internationally recognized as one of the countries with the longest sitting times.
There was an article in the Nikkei on July 16, 2026 about the problem of Japanese people sitting too much.
That article referenced an international survey of roughly 50,000 adults across 20 countries and regions, which found that the median sitting time across all 20 countries and regions was 5 hours a day, while Japan's was 7 hours a day — tied with Saudi Arabia for the longest.
Portugal, at the other end, had the shortest sitting time at 2.5 hours — a large gap compared with Japan.
The research cited was from a 2011 survey, so there may have been some change since then. That said, given how often Japan's "sitting too much" problem is discussed across various media — not just the Nikkei — it seems clear that a culture of sitting is deeply rooted in Japan even by international standards. The fact that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has continued to roll out measures warning against excessive sitting also suggests that this sense of urgency exists at the national level.
So why do Japanese people spend so much time sitting?
"Working" and "Sitting" have become too closely tied together
Research published by Professor Koichiro Oka of Waseda University and colleagues, also referenced in the Nikkei article, estimated that 35.3% of Japanese adults sit for 8 hours or more per day.(*3)
The study defines this "8 or more hours of sitting per day" as "excessive sitting," and analyzes the economic burden in Japan of chronic diseases associated with it.
The results estimated that the economic burden in Japan for fiscal year 2021 was approximately ¥282.5 billion annually. This figure combines the medical costs of chronic diseases associated with excessive sitting and the productivity losses from premature death.
In other words, sitting is such an everyday act that it's easy to overlook, but prolonged sedentary behavior has a significant impact — not only on our own bodies, but on society as a whole.
"How many hours do I sit each day?"
If you take a moment to reconsider your sitting time — something most of us rarely think about — you might be surprised to find just how long it actually is.
Start by simply breaking up "sitting still"
When we think about countering excessive sitting, we tend to picture big commitments — "exercise every day," "take up a sport."
But according to the WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour, small actions also count as effective measures against excessive sitting — things like standing up and marching in place once every 30 minutes, or taking bathroom breaks and coffee breaks.
Even if you're busy and it's hard to carve out dedicated exercise time, simply standing up to grab a coffee, or walking from a station one stop further away, and turning small pockets of sitting time in your day into time spent standing or walking, may bring real benefits to your body.
Closing thoughts
This time, I shifted slightly away from the theme of "walking" to organize my thoughts on the relationship between "sitting" and the body.
Reading the article published in the Nikkei, I was struck by how long Japan's sitting time is by global standards. And looking back at my own daily life, I realized once again just how much of the day — outside of sleep — is spent sitting: time at the office, time on the train, time eating meals.
This culture likely isn't unique to Japan; I imagine it exists elsewhere in the world too. But I sense that Tokyo's particular characteristics — a dense city where much work happens inside high-rise buildings, along with a meticulously developed rail network — mean there are fewer situations that require walking.
And considering certain aspects of Japanese temperament, I also sense a psychological dimension at play: frequently getting up and walking around during work might be seen as a lack of focus, or people may feel hesitant about walking over to consult a colleague, being overly conscious of how others perceive them.
That said, as I mentioned in a previous journal entry, walking meetings are commonplace in other countries, and walking is recognized as a rational method for organizing one's thinking. Looking beyond Japan, it doesn't feel like continuing to sit while working is necessarily the right answer.
As NEULO explores exhibiting at various events across different regions, I've come to sense, firsthand, that a certain number of companies and local governments share this same feeling. I do believe it's true that many people achieve both physical health and strong work performance through walking.
To support, from the ground up, the daily lives of people who walk and stand in this way, NEULO will keep walking forward too.
References
Li, Z., Yang, J., Yang, J., Liu, S., Guo, X., & Cui, Z. (2025). Impact of physical activity patterns and sedentary behavior on sarcopenia prevalence among adults aged 18 to 59: A cross-sectional study from NHANES. Medicine, 104(36), e44312. (*1)
Mo, Y., et al. (2023). The association between sedentary behaviour and sarcopenia in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Geriatrics, 23, 729. (*2)
Mitsutake, S., Shibata, A., Ishii, K., Owen, N., & Oka, K. (2026). The economic costs of excessive sedentary behaviour in Japan. Journal of Public Health. (*3)
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. (2024). Physical Activity and Exercise Guide for Health 2023 [Kenko-zukuri no tame no Shintai Katsudo/Undo Guide 2023].
Nikkei (The Nikkei). (2026). "Japan, a Nation That Sits Too Much: Companies and Schools Roll Out Their Own Standing-Work Measures to Boost Focus" [Suwarisugi Taikoku Nippon, Tachi Sagyo de Shuchuryoku Appu — Kigyo/Gakko ga Dokuji Saku].
