The Health Effects of a Sedentary Lifestyle
The Health Effects of a Sedentary Lifestyle
Do you ever stop and think about how many hours a day you actually spend sitting? I didn’t until I went back to school. I thought I was fairly active with house and yard work mixed with an occasional gym session and swimming weekly. A sedentary lifestyle includes sitting, reading, watching television and using a computer for much of the day with little or no vigorous exercise. There have been a few studies done that have shown that sedentary behavior can lead to type 2 diabetes and many other diseases including cardiovascular problems, cancer and other chronic conditions. Most of these are treatable, and some even curable with moderate exercise.
I am not a health professional but, I have gone from being moderately active to being completely sedentary and I see firsthand the effects it’s had on my general health. Like many I work in an office and sit the majority of the 8 to 10 hours a day I’m there. The turning point for me was gaining 25 pounds in approximately eighteen months after starting school. The only thing that changed was the amount of time I was sitting each day. My diet was still about the same with a few more processed quick foods but not many extra or added calories. Simply for the lack of time to cook everything from scratch as I did mostly before. But the change in diet I noticed was not the determining factor. Not only was I gaining weight but my energy levels were at rock bottom. If I did find the time to exercise, I just didn’t have the energy or motivation to do it. I’ve recently started to notice that my muscle tone has decreased as well. I have close friends and family that are disabled and forced into a sedentary lifestyle due to immobility issues. I’ve seen the damage and the struggle of muscle atrophy first hand. Muscular atrophy is the decrease in size and wasting of muscle tissue. Muscles that lose their nerve supply can atrophy...