Sedentary lifestyles - behaviours, risks and solutions
A sedentary lifestyle is one with no or irregular physical activity and an excessive amount of daily sitting.
In addition to the recommended levels of physical activity, people also need to reduce sedentary behaviours. Being sedentary means sitting or lying down for extended periods when awake.
Characteristics
Characteristics of a sedentary lifestyle include:
- not participating (much) in physical activity or too passive in their life
- too much time watching TV, playing video games or on the computer (and not enough activity)
- driving or using public transportation a lot and rarely walking or cycling
- spending a lot of time sitting at work, school, college or at home
- not having hobbies or interests with a physically active element, such as sports or outdoor pursuits
People are more sedentary now than in the past due to changes to our general lifestyle. For example, fewer people have manual jobs, more people own cars and drive, and technology has affected almost everything from housework to leisure.
Risks
People's risk of developing some health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and high blood pressure, increases if they have a sedentary lifestyle. Recent research suggests that a sedentary lifestyle can be harmful even if a person meets the recommended levels of physical activity.
Solutions
Changing sedentary behaviours means altering many, often small, aspects of people's daily lives.