Barry said he developed massive headaches "so bad I could barely think." And his body ached from neck, back and shoulder pain. "It was getting really bad to the point where I was taking Advil three to four times a day," he said.

Count the 33-year-old Ukrainian Village resident among the legion of people who suffer from what some researchers call the sitting disease--the ill effects associated with being chained to a desk chair all day.

For long-toiling office and administrative support workers--23 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics--aches and pains aren't uncommon. But those aren't all they have to worry about. Having a sedentary job is associated with fatigue, slowed circulation and metabolism, weight gain and obesity, which can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, according to research.

Just how much time do we spend on our butts? A Vanderbilt University study published in 2008 in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported more than 6,300 men and women spent 55 percent of their waking time--7.7 hours a day or 54 hours a week--in sedentary behaviors. Such behaviors where little energy is expended, the study noted, are associated with time spent sitting, reclining or lying down during waking hours at home, work, school, in transit and during leisure time.

"The body actually functions very differently when you're sitting," said Dr. James Levine, director of the Active Life research team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "It functions very differently, not in a calorie-burning way only but also in the way it handles insulin, the way it handles cholesterol, triglycerides."

A couple hours into her eight to 10-hour workday, Elizabeth Saldana of McKinley Park walks around the office, stretches and does shoulder shrugs to give her neck and forearm tension relief.

"The only thing that seems to have helped alleviate the pain is what doctors tell you to do, which is exercise, stretching and making sure you're moving the muscles more," said Saldana, 32, who works in the software field for Cook County's hospital system. "The longer I'm away from my desk and doing desk work, the less aggravated the pain is," Saldana said.In the book "Move a Little, Lose a Lot," which Levine co-authored and published earlier this year, he notes the average desk-bound worker logs 5,000 to 6,000 steps a day. That compares to a pedometer study he cites that found an average Amish man--part of a traditionally more active demographic--logged 18,000 steps per day and the average Amish woman 14,000 steps per day while doing their chores. Levine advocates non-exercise activities to get people standing and moving throughout the day. He says simple activities such as walking to lunch or climbing the stairs can burn as many as 2,100 calories during the workweek. His suggestions all are things desk workers can do without going to a gym.  lvivanco@tribune.com