[blunte]

Obviously "abusing" your body will result in bad things happening. But I don't think it's reasonable to suggest that standing too much is abuse. Sure you're trading one set of effects for another, but I would argue that the negatives of standing are far fewer than the negatives of sitting.

By your implication, walking would be abuse because it raises your heart rate - and we only have so many beats before it stops working!

Good workouts at the gym intentionally stress your body, and your body responds by repairing itself stronger.

Back to the sitting/standing discussion... it seems the downsides of sitting far outweigh the downsides of standing.