Sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of cancer by 20 percent! Working for hours at a desk, an outdoor walk growing in our eyes, hanging out for hours without noticing it in front of the screen, or even watching sports videos instead of doing sports… If these sound familiar, start taking precautions as soon as possible.
Today, a sedentary lifestyle opens the door to many diseases and even increases the risk of premature death. More than 1.4 billion adults around the world face an increased risk of terminal illness simply because they don’t exercise enough.
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Specialists pointed out that “overweight and inactivity” are the most common behaviors that pose a health risk such as tobacco and alcohol consumption, overeating, inactivity, and said, “Physical activity is insufficient in approximately 31 percent of the population aged 15 and over, and this causes the death of approximately 3.2 million people every year. Individuals with a sedentary lifestyle have a 22 to 49 percent higher risk of premature death. “This is data that needs to be taken seriously.”
Cancer, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular problems…
Referring to the fact that a sedentary lifestyle affects the human body through different mechanisms, experts say: “Inactivity causes unwanted negative effects on the human body. The risk of all-cause mortality increases. In deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, it increases the risk of cancer and metabolic diseases (such as diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia). Musculoskeletal diseases (joint pain, osteoporosis), depression and cognitive impairment can be given as examples. Long-term sedentary life is also associated with the development of insomnia and sleep disorders.”
Here are 6 diseases caused by sedentary life
Diabetes
Insulin resistance and diabetes are two major problems that sedentary life is rapidly becoming common. Research points out that the risk of Type 2 diabetes is 112 percent higher in sedentary people. Insulin resistance is more common in individuals who walk less than one thousand 500 steps a day, sit for a long time and do not pay attention to calorie consumption.
Hypertension and disorders in blood fats
Thebiggest causes of death are heart and circulatory diseases (ischemic heart disease and strokes) and cancer. Inactivity causes changes in blood pressure as well as changes in cholesterol and insulin sensitivity. The first step in protecting against these diseases is to eat healthy and lead an active life.
Obesity
There are studies showing that with a 10 percent increase in the time spent sedentary, there is a 3.1 cm increase in waist circumference measurements. Even simple activities such as walking or standing expend energy; this type of low energy expenditure is called “non-exercise activity thermogenesis.” Even this typeof energy consumption can help fight against weight gain. Increased duration of low-energy activities, such as sitting or lying down, limits the calories burned by non-exercise activity. Research shows that obese people sit 2 hours more per day compared to the average individual.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system
Sedentary life; bone resorption, joint pain and posture disorder. Not moving also reduces bone mineral density. For women over the age of 50, doing at least 30 minutes of light physical activity instead of sedentary time reduces the risk of fractures by 12 percent. Those who spend 10 hours or more sedentary time daily have knee and joint pain. In people who work by sitting for a long time, posture disorders, back and neck pain develop.
Cancer
Sedentary time increases the overall risk of cancer by 20 percent. Long-term sitting is known to increase the risk of colorectal, uterine, ovarian and prostate cancers, especially in women. Another study showed a direct link between increased total sitting time and colon and uterine cancer.
Vulnerability
Vulnerability is defined as the state in which the body becomes more vulnerable to diseases. Among the multiple factors that lead to vulnerability, inactivity comes first. Vulnerability reduces a person’s ability to recover from illness or injury, and frail elderly people are more likely to be hospitalized. Individuals who sit longer in their daily lives are more likely to be more fragile later in life. With the shortening of the daily sitting time, the risk of developing frailty also decreases.
Stand up every 20-30 minutes
Emphasizing that long-term sitting is extremely harmful for health, experts said, “People who work at a desk should stand up or walk at regular short intervals such as 20-30 minutes; they may make it a habit to have some meetings with their colleagues standing up or to walk for short periods of time to exchange documents in the office.”
Experts who point out that insomnia and irregular nutrition are the main reasons that push people to inactivity , make the following recommendations:
“Movement, healthy eating and quality sleep are the sine qua non of human life. It is very important to follow these 3 rules to make the quality of life and life expectancy longer. If we can make movement a habit of behavior in our lives, we will protect our health.”