The practice of squatting

Young Blood wrote: »

I noticed that in Asia and some parts of the middle east people are more prone to squat in social settings. For example taxi drivers waiting for fairs on the side walk.
Yet in the west the practice is almost non existent.
I was providing security outside a bank last week and standing for about 8 hours. I had an instinct to squat when I got tired, which I did for a few seconds now and again, but it seems almost socially unacceptable to squat in public places in the west.
Why is this? It's such a natural thing to do.

An argument could be made for the opposite. Ashvin Thambyah (2008) suggests
repeated squatting causes 'a reversal in the tibiofemoral shear reaction force from posterior-directed to anterior-directed, occurring under full compressive load and within a fraction of a second'. In other words this unnatural position over time compromises the joint cartilage in the knees. Indeed it is the practice of squatting that may be a contributory factor in the high incidence of tibiofemoral osteoarthritis in Asian populations (see also Liu & Xu 2007**).

Black Swan wrote: »

There does appear to be a greater proclivity to squat, kneel, or sit cross-legged in non-Western cultures. This probably occurs due to different norms and protocols by culture, along with expected variation and degree by culture. According to a review conducted by Susan Mulholland and Urs Wyss in their "Activities of daily living in non-Western cultures: range of motion requirements for hip and knee joint implants," International Journal of Rehabilitation Research: September 2001, Volume 24, Issue 3, pp 191-198, such posturing behaviour requires a greater range of motion in Asian and Middle Eastern countries when compared to Western postures.

Yes, there appears to be differences, but I would be reluctant to place a value on such differences. They are just different by culture, and such differences between cultures make them interesting.

I would agree as regards culture being a factor too. The squatting position is for the most part universally viewed as a defecation position and historically the Greeks were said to view it as 'uncouth or primitive' (Hewes 1955***). Of the time, it was mostly slaves (on vases and reliefs) who were shown to be in a squatting position (Bremmer 1991****). It is reasonable to suggest that the reason why it never took off a cultural practice in the west has roots going back to that time, and maybe even before that.


* Thambyah, A. (2008). How critical are the tibiofemoral joint reaction forces during frequent squatting in Asian populations?. The Knee, 15(4), 286-294.
Chicago

** Liu, C. M., & Xu, L. (2007). [Retrospective study of squatting with prevalence of knee osteoarthritis]. Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi= Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi, 28(2), 177-179.

*** Hewes, G. W. (1955). World distribution of certain postural habits. American Anthropologist, 57(2), 231-244.
Chicago

**** Bremmer, J. (1991). Walking, standing, and sitting in ancient Greek culture. A cultural history of gesture, 15-35.