Working for hours at a desk, taking a walk in the open air, being stuck in front of the screen for hours without noticing, even watching sports videos instead of doing sports… If these sound familiar to you, start taking precautions as soon as possible.
A sedentary lifestyle opens the door to many diseases and even increases the risk of premature death. More than 1.4 billion adults around the world face an increased risk of fatal disease simply because they don’t get enough exercise. Acıbadem Bakırköy Hospital Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Specialist Prof. Dr. Şule Arslan, “Individuals with a sedentary lifestyle have a 22 to 49 percent higher risk of premature death. These are data that should be taken seriously.” says.
Cancer, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular problems…
Mentioning that a sedentary lifestyle affects the human body through different mechanisms, Prof. Şule Arslan says: “Inactivity causes undesirable negative effects on the human body. The risk of death from all causes increases. It increases the risk of cancer and metabolic diseases (such as diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia) in deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. Musculoskeletal diseases (joint pain, osteoporosis), depression and cognitive disability can be given as examples. Long-term sedentary life is also associated with the development of insomnia and sleep disorders.”
Here are 6 diseases caused by sedentary life
Diabetes
Insulin resistance and diabetes are two important problems that sedentary life is rapidly becoming widespread. Studies point out that the risk of Type 2 diabetes is 112 percent higher in inactive people. Insulin resistance is more common in individuals who walk less than 1,500 steps a day, sit for a long time and do not pay attention to calorie consumption.
Hypertension and blood lipid disorders
Heart and circulatory diseases (ischemic heart disease and strokes) and cancer are the leading causes of death in Turkey. Inactivity causes changes in blood pressure as well as changes in cholesterol and insulin sensitivity. The first step to prevent these diseases is to eat healthy and lead an active life.
Obesity
There are studies showing that there is a 3.1 cm increase in waist circumference measurements with a 10% increase in sedentary time. Even simple activities such as walking or standing consume energy; This type of low energy expenditure is called “non-exercise activity thermogenesis”. This type of energy consumption can even help fight weight gain. Increasing the duration of low-energy activities, such as sitting or lying down, limits the calories burned by non-exercise activity. Studies show that obese people sit for 2 more hours a day than the average individual.
Musculoskeletal diseases
sedentary life; causes osteoporosis, joint pain and posture disorder. Not moving also reduces bone mineral density. In women over 50, doing light physical activity for at least 30 minutes instead of sedentary time reduces the risk of fracture by 12 percent. Knee and joint pain occur in those who spend 10 hours or more daily sedentary time. People who work sitting for long periods of time develop posture disorders, back and neck pain.
Cancer
Time spent sedentary increases the overall risk of cancer by 20 percent. It is known that sitting for a long time increases the risk of colorectal, uterine, ovarian and prostate cancer, and increases cancer-related deaths, especially in women. Another study showed a direct link between increased total sitting time and colon and uterine cancer.
Fragility
Vulnerability (weakness) is defined as the condition in which the body becomes more vulnerable to diseases. Among the multiple factors that lead to fragility, inactivity comes first. Frailty reduces a person’s ability to recover from illness or injury, and frail elderly people are more likely to be hospitalized. Individuals who sit longer in their daily lives are more likely to be more fragile in later life. With the shortening of the daily sitting time, the risk of developing fragility also decreases.
Get up every 20-30 minutes
Emphasizing that prolonged sitting is extremely harmful for health, Prof. Arslan said, “Persons working at a desk should stand up or walk at regular short intervals such as 20-30 minutes; They may make it a habit to have some meetings with their colleagues standing up or to take a short walk to exchange documents in the office.”
Noting that insomnia and irregular diet are the main reasons that push people to inactivity, Prof. Dr. Şule Arslan offers the following suggestions: “Movement, healthy nutrition and quality sleep are indispensable for human life. It is very important to follow these 3 rules in order to increase the quality of life and life expectancy. If we can make movement a habit of behavior in our lives, we will protect our health.”
