According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity or a sedentary lifestyle directly affects our well-being and can lead to different health issues.
In fact, this lifestyle is among the 10 leading causes of death and disability in the world.
And to prevent diseases and disability caused by unhealthy and sedentary living, a balanced diet is not enough.
The best solution to try is to get moving everyday and set aside a few minutes to exercise and sweat out to release toxins and stored fat from our body.
With small steps towards being active, it can help you avoid these harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
Weight gain
An inactive lifestyle will obviously result in a few pounds of unwanted weight.
Practicing a sedentary lifestyle means fewer calories burned. The body’s ability to break down fat will weaken until it shuts down.
This is a serious side-effect because weight gain also has other health risks such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
The more weight that you gain means your heart will work harder for you, and it is important to consider that our heart is not just an important organ in our body, it is a muscle. It weakens when it is less worked.
Osteoporosis
Since our body’s muscles are made to move and our bones are made to endure the weight of movement, many studies show that an inactive lifestyle will likely lead to osteoporosis.
It is the loss of calcium and other minerals in the bones which makes them prone to fracturing.
If you have a sedentary lifestyle along with poor posture and weak muscles your risk of fractures will increase.
It encourages the loss of bone mass but regular exercise can reduce the pace of bone loss.
Backaches
Slouching in front of your computer for four hours straight or more can lead to increased pressure on the disks in your lower back.
The compression in your lower back can then lead to disk degeneration, which is one of the main reasons for back pain.
Doctors suggest changing positions every 15 minutes and getting up to move.
Aerobic exercises can also reduce back pains.
Blood sugar rises
No matter what your current weight status is, your blood sugar levels will rise if you are just sitting for many hours a day.
A study conducted on sedentary adults showed that they were more likely to have blood sugar levels at 5.7 percent or above, which is already considered a prediabetes range.
With a higher ratio of fat to muscle, this condition can lead to more metabolic issues, such as higher blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.
Practicing a healthy diet with a commitment to regular exercise is the key to avoid unwanted effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
Let us know what keeps you healthy these days in the comments section of this video!
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