A recent study found that nearly half of Americans sit too many hours a day and don’t exercise at all, as it seems the United States is turning into a sedentary nation.
More than 5,900 American adults were surveyed, and findings have shown that nearly 26% sit more than 8 hours a day, 11% sit more than 8 hours a day and are physically inactive, and 45% do no moderate or vigorous exercise during the week.
Sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and premature death, says Dr. Emily Ussery, who points out that sitting is not bad in itself, but rather an indicator of lack of activity physical. Ussery is the lead author and an epidemiologist at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, part of the CDC.
Understanding of the health risks of excessive sitting is improving, although the full reasons why prolonged sitting is unhealthy are still not known; large muscles are turned off when people are seated, which can have a host of seemingly harmful metabolic consequences.
Most experts agree that more and better effort is needed to get people off the couch and moving, programs that increase physical activity and reduce sitting can be effective in reducing health risks for many conditions.
In the United States, over the past quarter century, the three leading causes of premature death are smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity, according to Dr. David Katz, who goes on to explain that smoking is decreasing, poor diet and lack of physical activity. physical exercise become the leading cause of early death and chronic disease. Katz is director of the Yale University Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.
Many people sit most of the day, and not just for work, most of them get little exercise. 1 in 10 people will miss the benefits of exercise and daily intermittent motion; simply getting up and moving around will reduce the time spent sitting, which will be more beneficial to health. There is a menu of options available to increase movement, ranging from standing desks and treadmills, walking to meetings or parking further away, taking stairs, to chairs that involve constant movement. Physical activity is about finding opportunities to add movement throughout the day, which will contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
In America, sedentary lifestyles cause 10% of premature deaths; if 25% of inactive people did the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, almost 75,000 premature deaths could be avoided.
Regular physical activity can improve brain health, reduce the risk of 8 different forms of cancer, and reduce the risk of excessive weight gain and attributed risks; while single bouts of physical activity can sharpen the mind, reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, improve sleep, and boost the body’s ability to convert blood sugar into energy.
Many chronic health conditions can be improved through physical activity, such as osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and depression. According to the new edition of the US Physical Activity Guidelines For Americans any amount of physical activity, even 2 minutes at a time, can have tremendous health benefits.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice. please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. This article is not intended to provide medical diagnosis, advice, treatment, or endorsement.
