Sedentaryism is killing us in days. New studies show that if we sit in a chair, in bed, or in any other inactive position for more than 10 hours a day, the risk of death by heart attack or other cardiovascular disease increases enormously.
Sedentaryism is killing us PHOTO The truth
Sedentaryism, experts say, is the greatest enemy of human health. According to studies carried out by the World Health Organization, 31% of adults on Earth do not do sports. In Romania the situation is just as serious. According to statistics, only 25 Romanians exercise regularly. More than 62% of Romanians do not do sports at all and we have reached the 4th place in Europe for sedentary lifestyle. New research shows that the state is literally killing us in days.
Sitting on the couch or chair destroys our heart
A study presented, recently, at the Scientific Session of the American Cardiology Association shows that the contemporary life, marked by sedentarism, is killing us. The researchers involved in the study used a sample of 90,000 people with an average age of 62 years. All participants were equipped with a triaxial accelerometer, worn on the wrist, capable of counting their movements. The study spanned eight years. The results show that lack of movement creates serious cardiovascular problems, from atrial fibrillation to heart failure and heart attack. In particular, a certain amount of time spent in inactivity poses an increased risk. Thus, people who spend more than 10.6 hours a day in a sitting or lying position have a high risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. In particular, they are at risk of myocardial infarction. It should be noted that these 10.6 hours of inactivity do not include sleeping hours.
“For all these cardiovascular problems there is a maximum risk point at 10.6 hours of inactivity. This means that we must avoid sedentarism as much as possible. This is one of the main factors for heart attack and other cardiovascular problems”Shaan Khurshid, an electrophysiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, tells Medical News Today. Although it seems impossible to sit that long, the contemporary lifestyle proves otherwise. Most people in developed and urbanized areas sit for at least 10 hours. And that’s because I use the car to get around, with minimal effort, I sit a lot at the desk or in bed with the laptop in my arms. Walking long distances is a rarity for more and more people. In other words, few walk to the office, shopping or school anymore. “Most people spend most of the day in a sitting position”adds Khurshid.
Inactivity recovery exercises do not help us much
The specialists involved in the study discovered that sedentary lifestyle affects us irreversibly. That is, we cannot recover the hours we sit or lie down with two or three hours of physical exercise per week. At least in terms of increasing the risk of having a heart attack. The 150 weekly minutes, mandatory for maintaining health, do not cover the tens of hours of standing, in the same interval. “In the case of heart attack or cardiovascular mortality, the risk remained high even in those who exercise occasionally, but otherwise lead a sedentary life”states the American doctor. In other words, we must have an active life throughout the day, avoiding as much as possible the sitting or lying position for more than 10 hours a day. Sedentaryism destroys health in several ways. A person who does not exercise constantly exposes himself to diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders.
