The impact of a sedentary lifestyle on health

In modern times, various diseases are prevalent among young and middle-aged people. In most cases, lifestyle habits are the root of the problem. Medical experts have issued warnings against people who lead a sedentary lifestyle where they spend most of their time sitting down to work or chatting while sitting. When News18 interviewed Dr Priyanka Rohatgi, a clinical nutritionist based in Phoenix, USA, about the study, she stressed that sitting for long periods of time is very harmful to health. She explained that a sedentary lifestyle can have serious effects on the body and lead to paralysis. Dr Rohatgi pointed out that sitting for long periods of time can lead to multiple health problems at the same time. First, it leads to lower back pain, which gradually weakens the bones in the lower back. Sitting for long periods of time puts pressure on the spine and joints, which causes lower back pain and serious posture problems. This pressure can cause the spine to become misaligned and weaken over time. The muscles around the waist also start to get tight, which leads to hamstring tension and makes it difficult to straighten the legs.

Dr Priyanka Rohatgi says that all this, plus sitting in one place for long periods of time, causes blood to start rising from the lower legs and not be able to come down. This leads to swelling in the lower legs. This is called Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

Dr Priyanka Rohatgi advises that the first step is to do at least 30 minutes of walking or physical activity every day. If your job requires you to sit for long periods of time, don’t worry – just getting up and moving around for five minutes every 30 minutes is enough to keep you physically active even while sitting in a chair.

A recent study published in the Biomedical Central Public Health Journal also highlights how harmful sitting for long periods of time can be. According to the study, people who sit for more than six hours and don’t drink coffee are at higher risk of early death than others. Drinking coffee has been shown to alleviate metabolic problems and increase overall life expectancy in adults. Poor metabolism increases inflammation in the body, significantly increasing the risk of death. This risk is further exacerbated by lack of exercise.