We are willing to stipulate that we are not as smart as academic researchers at Stanford University's centers for longevity and prevention research. On the other hand, we didn't convene a two-day conference to discover that sitting around isn't good for us.

Mom delivered that news long ago. Since then any number of professional noodges have joined the chorus, warning that a sedentary lifestyle is a major health risk.

So why the two-day conference on sitting this month at Stanford?

It turns out that "inactivity physiologists" have discovered that all sitting carries risks. Any time spent not exercising the "postural muscles" of the legs, back and neck can reduce the processing of fat and cholesterol. Even if you sit all day and then go home and run a marathon, you're still in trouble.

One answer: Get up and move around. Don't spend long hours watching television unless you get out of your chair now and then. Stretch. Pace. Whatever you do, don't just sit there.

We're not sure how these methods could be enforced, but chair control is not an option. The Stanford people will get our La-Z-Boy when they pry it out from under our cold, dead backsides.