The dangers Associated With Too Much Sitting are many. In this article we are going to highlight a few of them.
Too much Sitting or lying down for too long increases risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Being active is not as hard as you think. There are lots of simple ways to include some physical activity in your day.
Living a sedentary lifestyle can be dangerous to your health. The less sitting or lying down you do during the day, the better your chances for living a healthy life.
Standing for a reasonable period of time or move around during the day, will lower the risk of early death than if you sit at a desk. A sedentary lifestyle, can attract overweight, type 2 diabetes or heart disease, and depression and anxiety.
The health problems associated with too much sitting include:
1. Weakening of Legs and gluteals (bum muscles)
Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg and gluteal muscles. These large muscles are important for walking and for stabilising you. If these muscles are weak you are more likely to injure yourself from falls, and from strains when you do exercise.
2. Weight Increase
Moving your muscles helps your body digest the fats and sugars you eat. If you spend a lot of time sitting, digestion is not as efficient, so you retain those fats and sugars as fat in your body.
Even if you exercise but spend a large amount of time sitting, you are still risking health problems, such as metabolic syndrome. The latest research suggests you need 60–75 minutes per day of moderate-intensity activity to combat the dangers of excessive sitting.
3. Hips and back
Just like your legs and gluteals, your hips and back will not support you as well if you sit for long periods. Sitting causes your hip flexor muscles to shorten, which can lead to problems with your hip joints.
Sitting for long periods can also cause problems with your back, especially if you consistently sit with poor posture or don’t use an ergonomically designed chair or workstation. Poor posture may also cause poor spine health such as compression in the discs in your spine, leading to premature degeneration, which can be very painful.
4. Anxiety and depression
We don’t understand the links between sitting and mental health as well as we do the links between sitting and physical health yet, but we do know that the risk of both anxiety and depression is higher in people that sit more.
This might be because people who spend a lot of time sitting are missing the positive effects of physical activity and fitness. If so, getting up and moving may help.
5. Cancer
Emerging studies suggest the dangers of sitting include increasing your chances of developing some types of cancer, including lung, uterine, and colon cancers. The reason behind this is not yet known.
Heart disease
6. Heart diseases
Sitting for long periods has been linked to heart disease. One study found that men who watch more than 23 hours of television a week have a 64 per cent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than men who only watch 11 hours of television a week.
Some experts say that people who are inactive and sit for long periods have a 147 per cent higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
7. Diabetes
Studies have shown that even five days lying in bed can lead to increased insulin resistance in your body (this will cause your blood sugars to increase above what is healthy). Research suggests that people who spend more time sitting have a 112 per cent higher risk of diabetes.
8. Varicose veins
Sitting for long periods can lead to varicose veins or spider veins (a smaller version of varicose veins). This is because sitting causes blood to pool in your legs.
Varicose veins aren’t usually dangerous. In rare cases, they can lead to blood clots, which can cause serious problems (see deep vein thrombosis, below).
9. Deep vein thrombosis
Sitting for too long can cause deep vein thrombosis (DVT), for example on a long plane or car trip. A deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot that forms in the veins of your leg.
DVT is a serious problem, because if part of a blood clot in the leg vein breaks off and travels, it can cut off the blood flow to other parts of the body, including your lungs, which can cause a pulmonary embolism. This is a medical emergency that can lead to major complications or even death.
10. Stiff neck and shoulders
If you spend your time hunched over a computer keyboard, this can lead to pain and stiffness in your neck and shoulders.
