"From Sedentary to Vibrant: Empowering Strategies

to Transform Your Lifestyle"

Author - Pranshu Agrawal

Overview
One-third of the global population aged 15 years and older engages in insufficient physical
activities, which affects health. However, the health risks posed by sedentary behaviors are
not well known. The mean daily duration of sedentary behavior is 8.3 hours among the
Korean population and 7.7 hours among the American adult population. Sedentary
lifestyles are spreading worldwide because of a lack of available spaces for exercise,
increased occupational sedentary behaviors such as office work, and the increased
penetration of television and video devices. Consequently, the associated health problems
are on the rise. A sedentary lifestyle affects the human body through various mechanisms.
Sedentary behaviors reduce lipoprotein lipase activity, muscle glucose, protein transporter
activities, impair lipid metabolism, and diminish carbohydrate metabolism. Furthermore,
it decreases cardiac output and systemic blood flow while activating the sympathetic
nervous system, ultimately reducing insulin sensitivity and vascular function.

How Harmful Is It?

In the short term, being inactive can increase depression or anxiety. It can also affect the
way the body processes fats and sugars in the diet and lead to some weight gain if you
aren't burning enough calories.
Over the long term, sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of mortality from cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, and cancer. In addition to increasing the chances of dying of these causes,
it also decreases the quality of life through increased knee pain, higher rates of depression,
and decreased cognitive function.

What are the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle?

A sedentary lifestyle refers to a lack of significant physical activity. It is becoming a
significant public health issue and relates to a range of chronic health conditions.
Most people living a sedentary lifestyle are unlikely to be meeting the national physical
activity guidelines. According to the government’s 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for
AmericansTrusted Source, adults should be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-
intensity physical activity each week.
A 2017 paper by the Sedentary Behavior Research Network (SBRN) defined sedentary
behavior as any activity involving sitting, reclining, or lying down that has a very low
energy expenditure. The measurement for energy expenditure is metabolic equivalents
(METs), and the authors consider activities that expend 1.5 METs or less of energy to be
sedentary.
Research suggests that only 21 percent of adults are meeting the physical activity
guidelines, while less than 5 percent perform 30 minutes of physical activity per day.

Fixing a Sedentary Lifestyle

A more active lifestyle can significantly reduce the chances of chronic health conditions,
mental health disorders, and premature death.

Increasing physical activity

1) Standing rather than sitting on public transport
2) Walking to work
3) Taking walks during lunch breaks
4) Setting reminders to stand up every 30 minutes when working at a desk
5) Investing in a standing desk or asking the workplace to provide one
6) Taking a walk or standing up during coffee or tea breaks
7) Spending more time doing chores around the house, especially DIY or
gardening
8) Making excuses to leave the office or move around the building
9) Taking phone calls outside and walking around at the same time
 10) Spending some free time being active rather than watching
television or playing video games
11) Getting up and walking around during television commercials
12) Taking the stairs instead of using the elevator

Research has shown that physical activity, including exercise and sports, can reduce the
risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and early death.
Evidence also consistently shows that exercise can improve mental health. A 2018 study of
1,237,194 people found that those who exercised reported fewer mental health problems
than those who did not.

Takeaway

Research has linked a sedentary lifestyle to severe health conditions.

Many people do not meet the minimum physical activity guidelines and are at risk of
developing health issues from spending too much time being sedentary.

People can reduce the risks of a sedentary lifestyle by increasing the amount of physical
activity that they do and using the techniques above to reduce the time they spend being
sedentary.