A sedentary lifestyle affects around 80% of adults, therefore it is important to talk about it (1.).
First, I will discuss the meaning of sedentary lifestyle and the expected harms of living it.
Then I will introduce 5 signs that will help you figure out whether you live a sedentary lifestyle or not.
What does sedentary mean?
Originally the term sedentary has been defined as the absence of physical activity.
However, researchers showed that long hours of sitting per day could deteriorate one’s cardiovascular system, that’s why the term sedentary means more than just not exercising enough. (2.)
So sedentary activities are basically seated activities, such as working, reading, watching TV, or playing video games (3.).
The harms of sedentary behavior
The main reason why sedentary behavior could impact your health adversely is that exercising and physical health are related. According to the American College of Sports Medicine regular physical activity and exercising decrease the risks of coronary artery disease and improves physical function.
Researchers suggest that regular exercising serves as secondary prevention for the risks of chronic diseases, such as CVD, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and hypertension.
So by now, it might be clear that the lack of physical activity could increase the chance of suffering from chronic diseases, which is obviously huge harm.
Not enough exercising is just one side of the coin!
Evidence suggests that prolonged sitting could increase waist circumference and cardio-metabolic risk score regardless of regular exercising. (4.)
So now that you are aware of the definition and the underlying harms of living a sedentary lifestyle, then let’s figure out whether you are affected by this lifestyle by mentioning the 5 most important signs of it.
The primary signs
The primary signs of sedentary behavior are if you are doing activities that involve sitting with low levels of energy expenditure. Let’s name the three most important signs (activities). (4.)
1.TV Viewing Time
TV time which is 4 hours or more per day has a strong relationship with abnormal glucose metabolism and metabolic syndrome, which includes cardiovascular diseases and diabetes 2.
So if you spend at least 4 hours per day watching television that is a definite sign of living a sedentary lifestyle. I also would like to mention here that according to a study just simply watching TV every day affects your physical health too, it does not have to be at least 4 hours.
However, when the time reaches 4 hours per day you really should be careful.
2. Use of Computer and Video Games
Sitting in front of a computer for hours especially impacts office workers, students and even freelancers.
If you have a 9 to 5 job or you are a freelancer who uses a computer for work and sits long hours in front of the computer every day then you can consider yourself sedentary.
The same goes for spending long hours playing video games, which especially affects children.
3. Sitting in an automobile
You might not think about that but going to your workplace and heading back home could easily take up a few hours from your day, hence sitting in your car or using public transportation could lead to long hours of sitting as well.
Exercise-related signs
Although prolonged sitting is the primary sign of sedentary behavior, the lack of physical activity will further enhance the risks of this lifestyle, therefore it is important to mention the exercise-related signs.
4. Time of physical activity is under 150 minutes per week
Health professionals recommend doing at least 150 minutes of exercise per week. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, activity beyond 150 minutes per week is still considered to be insufficiently active. So in order to tick this box, you should make sure that the time you exercise per week exceeds 150 minutes.
5. The intensity is low
Time is not everything, because intensity does matter a lot.
If you are exercising 153 minutes per week at low intensity then that won’t be enough to make it to an active physical activity level. According to the guidelines over 150 minutes moderate, or over 75 minutes vigorous workout per week will lead to being active.
That’s why monitoring exercise intensity is important here. The moderate level is between 3-5.9 METS and over 6 METs of exercise are vigorous.
Ballroom dancing, playing badminton, leisure swimming, or volleyball are considered moderate types of workouts.
However, darts, billiards, and fishing are only light levels of activities.
I hope by now you have an idea of the meaning and harms of living a sedentary lifestyle and if you are showing one of the symptoms of it.
If you had positive results regarding the symptoms then you might want to consider a plan to overcome sedentary behavior. You can achieve great results on your own if you are really dedicated and know how to get started. You might want to read this article to find out your readiness for change.
If you are still contemplating or you don’t know how to start you might want to consider working with a health coach, because that could be really effective in terms of behavior change.
Read this article to find out what the first health coaching sessions look like and if you are happy with the terms I have an announcement for you:
For a limited amount of time I am offering health coaching for testimonials!
Get in touch with me now in order to learn more about the opportunity if you are interested in health coaching to improve your health and fitness!
Stay safe and healthy,
Eszter
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