Sedentary Lifestyle is a kind of lifestyle which has very less or no physical activity at all. A person leading this kind of lifestyle is always either sitting or lying down and feels lethargic to do even the common chores they are supposed to do and are commonly referred to as the “Couch Potatoes”.
Persons with sedentary lifestyle habits tend to be usually obese or overweight. They prefer staying on the couch for more than 5 hours a day or even the whole day and prefer watching the television or mobile phones or play video games or work sitting in one place. The persons who sit at workplaces for more than 5 hours are also categorised under the sedentary life styled people. There are greater risks of developing chronic diseases and also the risk of premature deaths in a sedentary lifestyle.
How does an inactive lifestyle lead to health problems?
The risk of developing a chronic disease is dependent on the BMR. A low metabolic rate makes a person obese or the body of a person with low BMR tends to store up fat very easily making them obese and their BMI is high in turn leading them into developing heart diseases, strokes, diabetes, cancers and even depression. A person leading a sedentary lifestyle has a very low BMR as they do not utilise the energy from the food when at rest compared to if they move about hence the energy that comes from the food they ingest gets deposited as fat around the organs of the body making them function less and resulting in chronic diseases. When this fat gets deposited on the walls of the blood vessels it leads to increase of pressure of blood flow resulting in High blood pressure or Hypertension. Along with sedentary habits when a person consumes unhealthy foods such as processed foods, sweets, junk or fried foods, he is at greater risk to develop chronic diseases or even premature death.
Effects on health due to sedentary lifestyle
Different kinds of sedentary habits which have negative effects on health are mentioned below:
1. Watching TV leads to obesity as you tend to binge on junk foods and as your sweet cravings increase when your body doesn't convert the fat in the food you take into energy.
2. Desk Jobs can also lead to Cardiovascular diseases and obesity as the food you take gets stored up as fat and the fat gets accumulated in the walls of the arteries leading to various heart problems.
3. Sleeping too much can cause dull functioning of your brain and lead to premature schizophrenia developments in one's life and also lead to depression and suicidal tendencies in people who sleep for more than 10 hours a day.
4. Gadgets – too much usage of gadgets tend to make us dependant on them leading to reduced physical activity and in turn obesity and various diseases.
5. Video games – kids who spend too much time on video games tend to develop antisocial behaviour and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and various other mental ill health problems.
6. Sitting for Long Hours without reason or even when not at work will make a person a “Couch Potato” and the literally a lethargic person leading to obesity which in itself is a disease even some colon cancers have been found to be associated with sitting for a long time.
7. Home makers – Moms or women who are home nowadays with maids around and hardly any work to do tend to develop major immune disorders like Osteoporosis or PCOD’s (Polycystic ovarian Disorders) due to very less physical activity and binge eating since they are alone at home most of the time.
Health Tips
To evade the problems arising from sedentary lifestyle these health tips will help maintain a disease free life:
1. Walking – A minimum 20 minutes of brisk walking per day for five times a week helps reduce the risk of a heart disease.
2. Doing household work- helps not only keeping the house clean but also allows your body to metabolise the fats.
3. At work –taking a short five-minute break by standing and stretching while at work helps release the blood flow to all the organs equally helping in boosting metabolism.
4. Running and swimming, or aerobics is also a good way to help maintain a good heart and other organ functionality.
5. Avoiding Junk food as much as possible.
6. Drinking warm water instead of cold drinks or sweetened beverages helps burn fats while you are sitting.
7. Home makers should find a way to go out and meet friends or do some social work to help build a healthy society and environment for the future of their kids.