Recognising The Red Flags: Signs & Side Effects Of A Sedentary Lifestyle
Health
Published on: 26-Mar-2024
10 min read
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Anushka Tripathi
Recognising The Red Flags: Signs & Side Effects Of A Sedentary Lifestyle
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In this modern world of advancing work culture, it's not unusual to spend most of the day sitting. However, this sedentary lifestyle is hazardous to your health in so many ways.
Short-term inactivity may increase depression or anxiety. This also affects how your body processes fat and sugar in your diet, which leads to sudden weight gain if you don't burn enough calories. Long-term, a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. It also reduces the quality of life through increased knee pain, increased incidence of depression, and decreased cognitive function.
However, physical activity improves overall energy levels, strength, and endurance and maintains bone strength. Globally, one in four adults and more than 80% of adolescents do not meet recommended sedentary physical activity levels. This has surprising implications for future health, as physical activity is a risk factor for death. People who are not active enough have a 20 to 30 per cent higher risk of morbidity than those who are sufficiently active.
This blog will be a thorough explanation of effects of sedentary lifestyle along with the signs or ‘red flags’ you need to be cautioned about. Keep reading to learn more about the risk of sedentary lifestyle.
Table Of Contents
What Is Sedentary Lifestyle?
Signs Of A Sedentary Lifestyle
4 Concerning Sedentary Lifestyle Side Effects
What Happens If You Are Too Sedentary?
What Is The Difference Between A Sedentary And Active Lifestyle?
Dietitian’s Recommendation
The Final Say
FAQs
References
What Is Sedentary Lifestyle?
A sedentary lifestyle is one in which a person is physically inactive and engages in little or no exercise and/or movement. It is defined as waking behaviour, such as sitting or bending, with an energy expenditure of less than 1.5 metabolic tasks (MET).
A sedentary lifestyle has serious implications for the overall health of the world's population. Many people around the world are leading a sedentary lifestyle, and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases associated with this is increasing. It is a well-known fact that lack of physical activity, or lack of physical activity, has detrimental effects on health.
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, accounting for 6% of global mortality. Sedentary people often sit or lie down all day while engaging in activities such as socialising, watching TV, playing video games, reading, or using a cell phone or computer. A sedentary lifestyle leads to poor health, disease, and many preventable causes of death.
Signs Of A Sedentary Lifestyle
Signs of a sedentary lifestyle can appear both physically and mentally, and sometimes, they are so small that you don't even realise it's happening to you. It's important to understand and acknowledge the signs so you can adjust and improve your health and quality of life. Signs that you are leading a sedentary lifestyle include:
1. Sleeplessness
Lack of physical activity can lead to increased levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which can disrupt the body's natural sleep-wake cycle and result in sleeplessness. Additionally, sedentary behaviour is often associated with poor sleep hygiene, such as irregular sleep schedules and excessive screen time before bed, both of which can interfere with the body's ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. However, a moderate amount of exercise can help you relieve fatigue and sleep better.
2. Fatigue
If you can't sleep at night, this may partly explain your fatigue, but your sedentary lifestyle is also a factor. When you are active, your body releases endorphins, a burst of energy that improves your mood and relieves pain. If you don't move, endorphins aren't released, which can lead to fatigue.
3. Difficulty In Concentration
Have you noticed that your brain feels a little foggy, or you can't focus on tasks like you used to? Not getting enough physical activity can significantly reduce your attention, concentration, and motivation.
4. Body Aches And Pain
A sedentary lifestyle often leads to body aches and pains due to decreased muscle activity and blood circulation. Prolonged periods of sitting or inactivity can cause muscle stiffness, tension, and poor posture, leading to discomfort and pain in various parts of the body. Lack of physical activity can contribute to weight gain and weaken muscles, thus increasing the strain on joints and causing further discomfort.
5. Weight Gain
A sedentary lifestyle, prolonged sitting and minimal physical activity, may induce weight gain as the body's calorie expenditure decreases. Extended periods of sitting result in fewer burned calories, thus creating an imbalance between intake and expenditure; furthermore, this sedentary behaviour frequently aligns with unhealthy eating habits—increasing consumption of calorie-dense foods—which influencers over-time weight gain.
4 Concerning Sedentary Lifestyle Side Effects
Here are some key reasons why a sedentary lifestyle is considered dangerous:
1. Weight Gain And Obesity
Lack of regular physical activity can cause weight gain and obesity. If you don't exercise enough, you burn fewer calories, resulting in an energy imbalance. Over time, this can lead to overweight and obesity, especially if you don't reduce your food intake. This increases the risk of a variety of health problems, including diabetes and heart disease.
2. Increased Risk Of Chronic Diseases
A sedentary lifestyle helps in increasing the risk of chronic diseases like certain heart-related diseases, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. Performing regular physical activity helps in maintaining healthy blood pressure levels, improves blood sugar control, and reduces the risk of developing these conditions.
3. Muscle Weakness And Loss
Sitting for long hours can weaken your muscles and cause weight loss. In severe cases, physical inactivity can cause muscle atrophy and a decrease in overall muscle mass. This affects your ability to perform regular daily activities and increases your risk of falls or injuries.
4. Poor Mental Health
A sedentary lifestyle is linked to adverse mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety. Regular exercise releases endorphins, which improve your mood and reduce stress levels. Without adequate exercise, these benefits can be lost and lead to mental health problems.
What Happens If You Are Too Sedentary?
One of the most notable direct consequences of a sedentary lifestyle is an increase in BMI, which leads to obesity. Physical inactivity is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. A sedentary lifestyle may increase the risk of various diseases.
Your metabolism may also change, meaning your body may have trouble breaking down fat and sugar. The immune system and bone strength may also be affected, and there may be increased inflammation and poor circulation in the body. Sitting for long periods of time may cause varicose veins, but they are generally not dangerous. However, in rare cases, a blood clot may form, destroying or blocking blood flow to other parts of the body.
Prolonged sitting affects the activity of muscle proteins that transport glucose and lack of physical activity reduces the activity of cholesterol-fighting lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Additionally, a sedentary lifestyle has a significant impact on blood pressure. It alters peripheral vascular resistance, reduces systemic blood flow, and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, reducing insulin sensitivity and vascular function. This is how the inflammatory cascade begins.
Moreover, a sedentary lifestyle increases waist circumference by approximately 1.22 inches and increases sitting time by 10%. Another important consequence of a sedentary lifestyle is non-specific back pain. Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem for people who spend time in a static sitting position in the office. This pain is a very important and important public health factor that can significantly affect productivity, performance, and even life.
More importantly, 37% of back pain worldwide is work-related. As a result of the study, the incidence of back pain among office workers was found to be 23-83% after a one-year follow-up.
What Is The Difference Between A Sedentary And Active Lifestyle?
Read here the difference between a sedentary and active lifestyle:
Sedentary lifestyle | Active lifestyle |
A sedentary lifestyle is one in which a person uses minimal physical energy. | Conversely, an active lifestyle is coloured by activities that make a person healthy and full of life. |
People leading a sedentary lifestyle can develop a number of health problems, such as chronic diseases. | While people leading an active lifestyle are immune to most health problems. |
Most people spend about eight hours sitting in the office, then go home and spend the rest of the time in front of the TV or computer. | To live a healthy, active lifestyle, a person can engage in activities that increase strength, endurance, and even flexibility. Sometimes a person doesn't need to exercise all the time. Certain habits may make us healthier. |
Heart disease, obesity, anxiety, depression, diabetes, and back pain are just some of the health conditions such people face because of a sedentary lifestyle | Unlike a sedentary lifestyle, where a person is prone to various diseases, an active lifestyle allows a person to always be healthy. |
Sedentary people spend most of their day in a sitting position, which leads to diseases such as heart disease, obesity, anxiety, depression, diabetes, and back pain. | An active lifestyle is characterised by activities that make a person healthy and satisfied.
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Also Read: How To Make Health And Fitness A Lifestyle?
Dietitian’s Recommendation
It has been proven that a sedentary lifestyle worsens health. The good news is that even small changes to a person's activity level can make a bigger difference to their overall health. Just walking more, parking further away, and doing household chores will have a positive impact on your health. Adding a fitness program to your lifestyle, such as aerobic exercise, swimming, or weight training, can significantly improve your health.
Dt. Lavina Chauhan
The Final Say
Physical inactivity is the leading causes of preventable death worldwide. Your health is our top priority, so you should cherish it. Take time for yourself and be careful about your choices.
Give up unhealthy lifestyle choices and find ways to be healthier in your daily routine. Consult a professional for proper guidance and advice on maintaining your health. Try to be physically active and include at least light exercises in your daily routine.
FAQs
1. What does a sedentary lifestyle mean?
A sedentary meaning a lifestyle with a lot of sitting and lying down, and there is very little or no exercise.
2. How are sedentary lifestyle and obesity related to each other?
When you are not physically active enough, you do not use the energy provided by the food that you consume, and the extra energy you intake is stored by the body as fat.
3. What are the side effects of sedentary lifestyle on students?
Studies have shown that children who engage in sedentary behaviours are at an increased risk for several negative health outcomes, such as obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and poor mental health.
4. What is the relationship between sedentary lifestyle and diabetes?
Several factors are involved in sugar level regulation in type 2 diabetes, including genetic and environmental interactions, increased calorie intake (high-fat diet) and lack of exercise. All these factors induce insulin-related abnormalities, ultimately leading to events that cause late-onset type 2 diabetes.
5. What should be included in the diet for sedentary lifestyle?
Take raw foods like salads, fruits and vegetable juices. Focus on eating healthy food rather than processed or junk.
6. What is the risk of sedentary lifestyle?
If you live a sedentary lifestyle, you have a higher risk of gaining sudden weight, type 2 diabetes or heart related disease, and experiencing depression and anxiety.
References
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