Sedentary lifestyle

This article is about the medical term. For the anthropologic concept, see sedentism.

"Couch potato" redirects here. For other uses, see Couch potato (disambiguation).

Increases in sedentary behaviorssuch as watching television are characteristic of a sedentary lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle is a type of lifestyle with no or irregular physical activity. A person who lives a sedentary lifestyle may colloquially be known as a slob or couch potato. It is commonly found in both the developed and developing world. Sedentary activities include sitting,reading, watching television, playing video games, and computer use for much of the day with little or no vigorous physical exercise. A sedentary lifestyle can contribute to many preventable causes of death. Screen time is the amount of time a person spends watching a screen such as a television, computer monitor, or mobile device. Excessive screen time is linked to negative health consequences.^[1][2][3][4]

Contents

  [show] 

Health effects[edit]

A sedentary person, or a "couch potato"

A lack of physical activity is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide.^[5]

Sitting still may cause premature death. The risk is higher among those that sit still more than 5 hours per day. It is shown to be a risk factor on its own independent of hard exercise and BMI. The more still, the higher risk of chronic diseases. People that sit still more than4 hours per day have a 40 percent higher risk than those that sit fewer than 4 hours per day. However, those that exercise at least4 hours per week are as healthy as those that sit fewer than 4 hours per day.^[6][7]

A sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity can contribute to or be a risk factor for:

• Anxiety^[8][9][10]
• Cardiovascular disease^[11][12]
• Colon cancer^[8]
• Depression^[8][10]
• Diabetes^[8]
• High blood pressure^[8][13]
• Lipid disorders^[8]
• Mortality in adults^[14]
• Obesity^[15][16]
• Osteoporosis^[8][17][18]
• Spinal disc herniation (Low back pain)^[19]

Solutions[edit]

As a response to concerns over health and environmental issues, some organizations have promoted active travel, which seeks to promote walking and cycling as safe and attractive alternatives to motorized transport.^[20] Additionally, some organizations have implemented exercise classes at lunch, or walking challenges among co-workers. Organizations may also offer cholesterol or blood pressure screenings to employees.^{[citation needed]}