Apart from stress, sitting still is one of the biggest health culprits of our time. The downsides of sitting still are that many of the body’s large muscle groups remain passive, the load on the body becomes one-sided and both metabolism and blood circulation deteriorate. It hardly comes as a big surprise that sitting still is linked to many of the lifestyle diseases of our time, everything from diabetes to obesity and cardiovascular disease to depression. Couch potatoes do not see a bright future!
When we look at the sky-high price tag for our sedentary lifestyle, many shrug their shoulders. In fact, few care about the price tag, as long as one’s own wallet doesn’t suffer. The body of the person who sits still suffers for a large part of their waking hours. Slowly, but surely, you dig your own hole. While just a few hours of physical activity per week can effectively promote your own health for the better. With small efforts, you can quickly increase your vitality and your functional ability.
Although the costs of our inactivity are based on decisions made at the individual level, no one needs to be held accountable for the lost tax dollars that our inactivity results in. Really, it mostly comes down to the question do i prefer to be healthy or sick. A new public disease is taking shape the combination of sparing physical activity and poor fitness has resulted in a new folk disease. Only a tenth of people of working age exercise according to the general recommendations and only half of them exercise with sufficient endurance.
Seven hours of sitting still per day is a deadly health risk
People of working age sit for an average of more than seven hours per day, which is the single largest risk factor for increased mortality, if one disregards low physical activity. Most of the sedentary time usually takes place in the workplace. But there is no reason to single out a scapegoat! The blame lies neither with the individual employee the employer. The fact is that everyday working life in the countries has changed significantly in recent decades. We have gone from physically demanding jobs to monotonous office jobs in front of a screen.
The sedentary lifestyle often continues during free time. We take the bus or car home from work and there we land comfortably on the sofa – in the good company of our mobile phone. It is no coincidence that almost half a million northerners suffer from type 2 diabetes. According to the who, a large part (27%) can be derived from being sedentary.