Health Risks Associated with a Sedentary Lifestyle (and How to Avoid Them?)
According to the World Health Organization, physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality.
More than 1.4 million adults die each year due to the lack of enough exercise. In our modern society, where many people sit at their desks all day or work from home on computers, it’s easy to see how this can happen.
Sitting for hours at your desk, slouching over your phone or computer can negatively affect your health. When you don’t move, blood flow slows down, meaning that less oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the critical bodily system involving your heart and brain.
This can lead to chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), cardiac diseases, etc., not forgetting the increased risk of cancer.
A sedentary lifestyle must be avoided at all costs.
A sedentary lifestyle is one with little or no physical activity in the daily routine. It involves little or no physical activity and can lead to several health risks. These risks include obesity, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and other mental illnesses. In this blog post, we’ll be explaining some of these health risks in detail as well as how you can avoid them!
Obesity is one of the biggest health risks associated with an inactive lifestyle. It is a serious health concern because many other disorders and disabilities arise from it.
Obesity is having too much body fat than what is desired. It’s different from being overweight, which means weighing too much. Obesity occurs when you eat more calories than you use over time – i.e. workout physically. You can tell if someone has an increased risk factor in their diet by looking at them to see how many pounds they are carrying on their frame–obesity comes with a myriad of health consequences including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, or cancer. So, it’s important that we prevent this as soon as possible.
Any heart-related conditions that increase your chance of a heart stroke, chest congestion, or coronary artery disease are termed cardiac conditions.
Unfortunately, cardiac conditions have become all too common given the sedentary and indoor lifestyle, junk food, smoking, and regular alcohol consumption. While regular preventive-care checkups can reveal abnormal cardiac conditions, they can sometimes undergo undetected in the case of inactive and normal-weighing people.
The best way to prevent this is to make a regular workout routine. Go out for a vigorous walk, a relaxing job, and perform some simple stretching moves. Not only your body will thank you, but you’ll also feel happier and stress-free.
Diabetes is an illness caused by blood sugar levels being too high and can lead to serious health problems.
The more common type of diabetes results in the body not properly producing or using insulin – a hormone that helps glucose get into cells for energy. Without enough insulin in your system, excess sugars will remain a major problem throughout time- eventually leading to heart disease and blindness, among other potentially life-threatening conditions.
Needless to point out, inactivity and lethargy can lead to diabetes at a very young time in a person’s life. However, an active lifestyle can avoid this burden on our well-being.
Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens your bones and makes them brittle. Your bones are more susceptible to fracturing, especially in the hips, spine, or wrist areas of your body.
In India, there are millions of people who either have Steoporosis already or who may be at risk because they don’t get enough calcium from their diet as an adult when building strong bone mass over time becomes crucial for strength later down the line! Another common reason for this old-age condition is an inactive lifestyle.
You can read about Osteoporosis and its treatment in detail to make better changes in your everyday life.
Feelings of lethargy, lack of motivation, and many mental & emotional imbalances are tied to a sedentary and lazy lifestyle. Make a few positive changes to stay on the ‘fitter’ side of the scale.
For any other health inquiry or medical consultation, AIMS, the leading center of medical excellence in India is always at your disposal.
You will be blessed with health 🙂