Sedentary lifestyle might be harming our health. This is a lifestyle with a lot of sitting and lying down, with very little to no exercise.
People no longer push themselves around as much as they did in years past due development of current technologies and the changing nature of the world.
It's a tough pill to swallow that our lives today include less movement, less activity, and less standing than they formerly did.
This escalated during and after Covid 19 in 2020, when much of work transitioned to being done from home. While it may appear that most individuals spend their life moving about, in reality, most people spend their time sitting.
Recent studies by Thrive My Way revealed that physical inactivity claims the lives of over 3.2 million people annually, making it the fourth biggest risk factor for global mortality at the moment because those who stay inactive and sit for long periods of time have a 147% higher risk of suffering a heart attack and stroke.
More than 80% of jobs currently involve sitting for long hours at the desks with 34% of women and 50% of men spending more than 75% of their time at work sitting for long uninterrupted hours. This is common amongst those who work from home and those in office.
These are the major causes of the current lifestyle diseases that are also preventable.
With the current rise of technology such as computers, smartphones, streaming services and the development of more social media Apps, people sit for long surfing the media for entertainment with the average user spending 2 hours and 31 minutes daily according to current global statistic.
This is done unconsciously entertainments from sites like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. entertainment and Netflix and Chill is no exception especially if done the whole day.
According to Dr Jerry Wasena Angira, the biggest problem with a sedentary lifestyle is that;
"We are the greatest contributors in the consequences that we face later. This is because of the supposed consolation of the comfort it brings however we never realize how much we participating in hurting ourselves," he said
Dr Angira is the Chief Orthopaedics Surgeon and Pain Specialist at St Peters Orthopaedics and surgical specialty centre.
He said sitting for extended periods of time is the primary cause of hip joints and back pain "Prolonged sitting shortens the hip flexor muscle, which might affect the hip joints. Long periods of sitting can also result in back pain, especially if the person slouches rather than adopting the correct positions that could result in spinal problems. Spine problems that can be quite painful include disc degeneration, disc compression, and disc dislocation."
Weight growth and obesity are not an exception. Because the body digests sugars and fats slowly, extended sitting makes the body sedentary, which slows down the digestive process. With this lifestyle, one frequently consumes more calories than they can expend. This is what makes someone overweight, which, once more, leads to the emergence of further problems caused by being overweight.
"The majority of us would expend a lot of energy trying to redeem ourselves by attempting to lose weight by going to the gym to cut the weights, getting upset by adhering to the web working routines that might not be producing the results we want. Some people even go as far as to alter their diets to aid in weight loss without realizing that the weight gain may have been brought on by their present inactive phases," explained Dr Angira
It's crucial to remember that, at the end of the day, you are ultimately responsible for taking care of yourself and reducing extended periods of sitting, whether at work or at home.
It’s crucial to think of original ways to avoid sitting down for too long, such as using phone apps and reminders to let you know when it's time to stretch or go for a walk.
It must be deliberate to do this. Doing walking meetings is one innovative strategy that could be useful.
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