Sitting too much is really bad for your health, but how detrimental is it?

Hurting yourself while doing nothing

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Do you spend too much time just sitting around? You could be hurting your body while you think you're doing nothing at all.

The life of millions

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Sitting for hours in front of a computer is the daily routine of millions of people around the world, and we are increasingly aware of the need to do physical activity.

Modern life problems

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Many people try going out for a run or frequently visiting a gym to keep an active life, but now health experts warn us that this is not enough.

Image: Unsplash / Luke Peters

Worrying numbers

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The World Health Organization warns that a sedentary lifestyle puts 1,800 billion people at risk of “suffering from type 2 diabetes, dementia, some types of cancer, such as breast and colon cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke”.

Exercise is not enough

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A recent study published on November 15, 2024, by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology claims that exercising in your free time is no longer enough to prevent heart disease if you spend an average of 10 hours a day sitting, according to CNN Health.

Image: Unsplash / Kenny Eliason

A risk whether you exercise or not

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The study's lead author, Dr. Ezim Ajufo, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, noted that the results highlighted “the importance of avoiding prolonged sitting… whether you're a physically active person or not”.

A serious health risk

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Specifically, the study, which was presented at the American Heart Association's 2024 Scientific Sessions, focused on how sedentary lifestyles cause cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, arrhythmia, and myocardial infarction.

Over 90,000 people observed

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To reach these conclusions, the researchers used data from the UK Biobank and analysed the sedentary behaviour and physical activities of almost 90,000 people and observed the cardiovascular health of these participants for 8 years.

What to avoid

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The study was able to identify which specific period of time we spend sitting is the most harmful to our health: “We strongly recommend that as many people as possible avoid sitting for more than 10.6 hours a day,” explained Dr. Ajufo, as reported by CNN.

Image: Unsplash / Csaba Balazs

The opinion of other experts

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Charles Eaton, chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Brown University, wrote in The Daily Mail that people tend to overestimate the amount of exercise they do and underestimate how much time they spend in a sedentary position.

150 minutes of exercise is not enough

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Despite the fact that many of the study participants met the 150 minutes of daily physical activity recommended by the WHO, they continued to be at high risk of suffering from heart diseases, per The Daily Mail.

Relevant conclusions

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CNN Health stresses that although the American Heart Association study is “observational” and cannot directly link “death from heart disease to sitting”, the correlations between the two facts are clear, according to Dr. Keith Diaz, a professor of medicine consulted by CNN.

Muscles are a key factor in our body

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According to Dr. Diaz from Columbia University Medical Center, “It makes sense why sitting for much of the day can be detrimental.” He explains that “muscles are important for regulating blood sugar and fat levels. To do their job well, muscles need movement”.

Gestures that are fundamental

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The solution, besides being obvious, also seems simple: “Taking breaks to move is a way to give your muscles the stimulation they need to do their job, you don't need much more”, explained Diaz, who was quoted by CNN Health.

How to effectively combat a sedentary lifestyle?

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As we have already mentioned, physical exercise is essential, but according to experts, it must be accompanied by something else: it is also important to break up long periods of sedentary periods, whether you are lying down or sitting.

Some tips to live longer

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The American non-profit organization, Mayo Clinic, provided some keys to ending a sedentary lifestyle in our daily lives.

Get up, stand up

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Mayo Clinic suggests some guidelines that we can follow in our daily lives, especially when we are at work: "Get up every 30 minutes, stand while talking on the phone or watching TV, try a desk that can be raised to a standing position, or conduct meetings with colleagues while walking."

An effort worth it

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In this regard, Dr. Rüdiger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at WHO, stresses: “We must make physical activity more accessible, affordable and enjoyable for all people, because in this way we will significantly reduce the risk of suffering from non-communicable diseases and improve the health and productivity of all”.

A silent threat

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Dr. Krech agrees that this is a serious issue that we have come to accept today and warns: “Lack of physical activity is a silent threat to global health and contributes greatly to the rise in chronic diseases. We need to find innovative ways to motivate people to be more active, considering factors such as their age, environment, and culture”.