I’m writing this month’s column while standing, proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks. As a child, I remember when my grandmother first heard about seat belts. “Oh, that’s the silliest thing,” she said. It’s the same reaction I get when I tell people about “sitting disease.” I admit it’s not the best name. Sounds contagious. How about “gluteus maximus gravititis?”

By any name, the problem is very real, a set of serious physiological consequences from the modern American lifestyle. We no longer work the corn rows but rather work the rows of office cubicles with our butts firmly planted, eyes glued to a glowing screen.

We recently took on a project at our office that required us to learn a lot about, er, “stationary stern syndrome.” We read things like this quote from Martha Grogan, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist: “For people who sit most of the day, their risk of heart attack is about the same as smoking.”

Now hold on. I’m no pushover for the latest health scare, having become jaded by nonsense such as vaccines causing autism, vitamin C preventing colds, and cellphones causing brain cancer. So I dug deeper.

A Mayo Clinic article cites a study that compared two groups of adults, one which sat less than two hours a day absorbing screen-based entertainment, and another which did the same for four hours or more. Over the study period, the latter group had a 50 percent increase of death from any cause, and a 125 percent greater risk of events associated with cardiovascular disease, such as chest pain or heart attack.

Here’s the kicker: The classic advice from the American Heart Association — 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least five days per week — appears to be no remedy for the ills caused by excessive sitting. Then what’s the answer?

It’s pretty simple: Stand up.

Back in my office, where our research findings were like a kick in the pants, the whole staff is on their feet. A long-abandoned area is now choice digs because its high counter works great for working vertically on a laptop. One colleague elevated his desk and spends the entire eight-to-five on his feet. When we hold meetings in our conference room, it’s now de rigueur to stand up periodically or from start to finish, occasionally leaning against one of the walls. By the way, our meetings have become more efficient.

Need more incentive? A 180-pound person working eight hours a day burns over 300 more calories standing than sitting. So stand up and slim down.

I’m a big fan of a free little tool I found at www.workrave.org. The program runs in the background on your PC (sorry, no Mac support) and pops up periodically to remind you to take a break, based on rules you set. I chose a 20-second stand-up every 15 minutes, and a five-minute break every hour. I work through my breaks, but strictly standing. You can limit total daily work hours, but I found that prohibitive, so I switched it off.

Early on, my grandmother rejected seat belts because they wrinkled her dress. Lifestyle change is hard, but even she came around. Could our society evolve to where we combat our sedentary lifestyle even on the job? We stand a pretty good chance.