Why being inactive can be bad for your health and weight!

Sitting disease, being sedentary, inactive or a couch potato all mean someone whose lifestyle involves lots of sitting and lying down, but with very little physical activity and/or no exercise.

Sitting disease can be used to describe people who sit for long periods of time and/or are inactive which can negatively impact on their health.

In fact the World Health Organization states that being physically inactive is the fourth leading risk factor linked to early deaths

Even if you don’t need to lose weight, one of the worst things you can do is sit on your butt all day and do no exercise. Here’s some of the potential differences from having a physically active or inactive lifestyle.

Having an active lifestyle (exercising and not sitting down for long periods)

• Gives you a better quality of life
• Maintains muscle mass keeping your metabolic rate high so you burn off more calories
• Gives you more energy and makes daily tasks easier to do
• Helps you lose weight and keep the weight off
• Improves your mental health and can help you manage stress and unwind

It also lowers your risk of:

– Coronary heart disease and stroke by up to 35%
– Type 2 diabetes by up to 50%
– Colon cancer by up to 50%
– Breast cancer by up to 20%
– Having an early death by up to 30%
– Osteoarthritis by up to 83%
– Depression by up to 30%
– Dementia by up to 30%

Having sitting disease / inactive lifestyle (not exercising and sitting down for long periods)

• Raises your risk of dying early
• Increased muscle loss leading to a lower metabolism, making you more likely to gain weight.
• Loss of muscle strength and endurance due to lack of use
• Weaker bones
• Increased problems breaking down fats and sugars
• Increases your chances of being overweight or obese

It also can increase your risk for diseases and conditions like:

– Type 2 diabetes
– Certain cancers, including colon and breast cancer
– High blood pressure and stroke
– High cholesterol
– Osteoporosis and falls
– Increased feelings of depression and anxiety
– Metabolic syndrome
– Heart diseases including coronary artery disease and heart attack

So keep moving whenever you can and try and limit sitting without getting up and moving around to about an hour or two.