2023-04-27 22:00:45
- Sitting for long periods of time increases the risk of being overweight, obese, heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
- Sitting is a phenomenon to which millions of people are exposed and the most affected is their health.
- World Day for Safety and Health at Work is commemorated every April 28.
Technology generates great advances in all areas, although it has also completely changed the lifestyle of millions of people. Despite all the positive aspects, there are also some negative points that cannot be overlooked. Within this second category is the phenomenon known as sitting and its negative impact on health.
What is it and how does it affect health?
First of all it is necessary to offer a general definition. Sitting consists of spending too much time sitting in front of a computer, television or behind the wheel. In that sense, it is a characteristic that fits with the daily life of the majority of the world’s population.
The problem with the above is that it increases the risk of being overweight, obese, heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary habits. For its part, 60% of the adult population in Mexico is physically inactive, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
In this regard, the Dr. Joaquin S. Pulido Reyesthe doctor in charge of the national diving team of the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sports (Conade) in CDMX, said that Taking active breaks every two or three hours helps improve the physical and mental health of sedentary people.
He points out that the study entitled “Evidence of the increase in sedentary lifestyle in Mexico City during the last decade: Prevalence of sitting time, trends and associations with obesity and diabetes”, from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), showed that among Between 2006 and 2015, the time that 15% of adults in Mexico City spent sitting increased by 18 minutes per year, with a daily average of seven hours.
“Since the pandemic and the home office, the time that people spend sitting in front of a computer has increased uninterruptedly, which favors the appearance of circulation problems and oxidative stress, and of course overweight and obesity. In my clinic, patients have expressed that they spend more time sitting in front of the computer at home than originally in the office, so sitting has increased from 7 or 8 hours a day, up to 12 hours”.
The sports medicine specialist explained that activating with simple exercises 10 or 15 minutes after sitting for two or three hours helps to have better sleep and concentration, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression, in addition to favoring the blood return of legs and arms, and combat the growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes in Mexico.
Recommendations against sitting and its effects on health
For this purpose, it is advisable to set an alarm every two or three hours so that people remember that they must get up from the seat to break sitting with very simple stretching exercises, mobilization of the heel, knees, hips and back, which are the parts of the body more affected by prolonged sitting. This generates the return of blood flow to the oxygenation of soft tissues and contributes to caloric expenditure to prevent further accumulation of fat in the body.
Answering calls standing up, going up stairs, stretching arms and legs, taking short walks inside the house or office, going up and down stairs, are also part of the small active breaks that can be done repeatedly to improve our health.
Dr. Joaquín S. Pulido mentioned that the WHO recommends doing at least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. The specialist added that people who are overweight or obese should visit a doctor to receive comprehensive treatment that, in addition to physical activity and an individualized nutritional guide, includes psychological care and pharmaceutical therapy if necessary, among other health interventions.
Also read:
5 million people die annually in the world due to sedentary lifestyle
Sedentary lifestyle favors the development of 14 diseases
Little sleep and a sedentary lifestyle, risk factors that favor the onset of Alzheimer’s
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