For years the claim buzzing around the ears of many women is that varicose
veins are induced by crossing your legs. Is this an old wives tail or is
there some validity to the claims? By age 50 a large percentage of men and
women are said to develop gnarled, ropy and unattractive varicose or spider
veins. Nearly 40 million Americans alone have signs of venous disease.
Studies have shown that for women lack of exercise, smoking, pregnancy and
long-haul travel may be inciters. No study has yet to link crossing legs to
directly causing the vein health issue.
The New York Times said, "Standing or engaging in sedentary activities for
more than eight hours a day increased the risk as well - a finding that has
been borne out in European studies of people whose jobs require them to be
on their feet, like nurses. Other studies have pointed to pregnancy as
another major contributor. But perhaps the easiest way to determine your
risk is to consult your family tree - more than 80 percent of people with
varicose veins have at least one parent with them."
Of course prolonged hours on end sitting or standing cross legged or not has
the ability to adversely affect your vein health, but experts still have not
proven that crossing your legs alone directly induces varicose veins.
