Women who lead a sedentary lifestyle, age nearly eight times more than women who are involved in physical work.
PNS | Hyderabad
Sitting disease is the term used to link the 34 chronic conditions that are commonly associated with lack of activity or excess sitting. Currently, working adults spend approximately one third to a half of their workday in a seated position and spend hours of leisure time on activities such as watching television, using computers, participating in screen-based recreation, and driving. Women who lead a sedentary lifestyle ,age nearly eight times more than women who are involved in physical work.
Weak legs and glutes
If you don’t use them, you lose them! By sitting all day, you are not depending on your powerful lower body muscles to hold you up. This leads to muscle atrophy, which is the weakening of these muscles. Without strong leg and glute muscles to stabilise you, your body is at risk of injury
Weight gain
Moving causes your muscles to release molecules like lipoprotein lipase, which helps process the fats and sugars you eat. When you spend most of your day sitting, the release of these molecules is lessened and your rear end is at greater risk of widening, according to research. You are also at greater risk for metabolic syndrome, even if you exercise.
Anxiety & Depression
Lesser understood than some of the physical effects of sitting, are the mental effects. But the risk of both depression and anxiety are higher in people who sit the most!
Cancer risk
Emerging studies suggest that prolonged sitting can increase your risk of certain types of cancer, including lung, uterine, and colon cancers.
Heart Disease
Sitting can hurt your heart, potentially leading to cardiovascular disease. Experts
say people who sit more, have a 147 percent higher risk of suffering from a heart attack or stroke
Diabetes risk
According to research, People who spend more time sitting can have a 112 percent increased risk of diabetes
Varicose Veins
Sitting for long periods of time can cause blood to pool in the legs. This can lead to varicose veins, or spider veins, a smaller version of the former.
Stiff shoulders and neck
As with your legs, butt, and lower back, your shoulders and neck will also suffer from prolonged sitting. This is especially true if you are hunched over looking at a computer screen!
Deep Vein Thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is a type of blood clot that’s most common in the legs. When part of this clot breaks off, it can cut off the flow of blood to other parts of the body such as your lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism.
The more time you spend sitting down, the likelier you are to die prematurely, studies show. And, sadly, exercising does not cancel out these pernicious effects. Future workplace intervention strategies may also seek to prioritise women who seem to be at greater risk of adverse health outcomes from sitting. Women need to understand that their chair is a health hazard and they are at more risk than men due to sedentary behaviour.
(The author Dr. Shahid Shafi is a consultant internal medicine at Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals)
