Questionnaire.

Sedentary Lifestyle

By Maira Celis Arias

Problem / Issue

Increasing physical activity, especially from a baseline absence of activity, reduces risk of numerous chronic conditions and aids in their management. According to America's Health Rankings in the 2017 Annual Report of Physical Inactivity, Regular physical activity is a vital element of a healthy lifestyle. In contrast, being physically inactive is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, arthritis, depression and premature death. In the United States, it is estimated that 12.4 percent of breast cancer, 12.0 percent of colon cancer, 10.8 percent of all-cause mortality, 8.3 percent of type 2 diabetes, and 6.7 percent of coronary heart disease is attributable to physical inactivity. Among adults aged 18 and older in the U.S., 21.7 percent met the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services physical activity guideline s for both aerobic and muscle strengthening activities in 2016, however, a majority of adults in the U.S. spend their waking hours being sedentary (i.e., sitting with low energy expenditure). Reducing sedentary behavior could increase life expectancy (2017).

“Modern Technology has all but eliminated the need for physical activity throughout our day.” Kevin Hurst, Master of Science Degree in Kinesiology.

Backgrounds / Survey

It is important to understand what people believe regarding sedentary lifestyle. Most people know the meaning, but they do not know the adverse consequences of having a sedentary lifestyle. People from different ages, race and educational level participated in the survey. To illustrate, Kevin Sheik, a 48 years old Indian, stated that the sedentary lifestyle is the way he lives his life, to be more specific, he said, “that is me, sitting at home, watching tv, on the cellphone, social media” (May 4th, 2018). Sheik also stated that the emerging evidence for a sedentary lifestyle is laziness and low energy levels. Another participant of the survey, Travis Johnson, a 18 years old student with a high school educational level, said “sedentary behavior is being inactive, being sitting without going out a lot”. Johnson also said, “technology does have a lot to do with sitting down more because we have more things that require us to sit down instead of doing manual labor” (May 2nd, 2018). Similarly, Amber Amirali, a Muslim woman, explain that the influence of the modern technology on sedentary lifestyle depends of the use because it can have a bad or a good influence (May 2nd, 2018). Has Likewise, Mildred Kelley, a 57 years old Caucasian Nurse, defined sedentary behavior as “A lifestyle where basically there is little movement during the day, the person is either sitting or lying down most of the time with little activity”. In addition, Kelley explained what happens on our body when there is a sedentary lifestyle health risk, “Weight gain comes to mind first. We sit around too much circulatory problems begin, using devices causes hand and elbow problems, neck and shoulder issues can begin due to improper posture, of course the diabetes and heart problems” (April 30th, 2018).

Solutions / Benefits

More and more people are dealing with some heart problems or hypertension at an early age, and these diseases are related to sedentarism. People are spending most of their time either sitting and watching tv or on their phone creating a bad habit: being inactive most of the time. The best way to overcome a sedentary lifestyle is to have a regular physical activity, as doing chores of the house, walking the dogs, joining a gym. According to Lisa Fields, in her article “Do you have Sitting Disease?” for WebMD, establishes eight ways to help overcome sedentarism. Fields explains that if a person aim for 10 minutes of NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis, and includes stretching, turning and bending), it would help to active the muscle and put the heart to work. Also, Fields argues that taking the opportunity to walk, stand and workout would help to use more muscles and burn more calories than being just sitting. Indeed, simply activities would help to improve health because even tough they are simple, it encourages the body to work and use more energy. Each person is the boss of their own lifestyle and each person must decide the better routine for them. It is important to mention that all kind of activity that a person enjoy must practice it more often because it would be better any kind of exercise instead of no exercise at all.

Personal Interview

Q&A session with Kevin Hurst, Master of Science Degree in Kinesiology.

MC: Describe the meaning of sedentary behavior. 

KH: Sedentary behavior would include failing to acquire the 150 minutes of moderate physical activity and 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity that is prescribed/ recommended.

MC: From your perspective, what is emerging evidence for a sedentary lifestyle? 

KH: The biggest piece of evidence is that in 1990 not one state had an obesity rate above 20%. In 2015, ALL 50 states had an obesity rate above 20%.

MC: What is your viewpoint of the modern technology influence on sedentary lifestyle? 

KH: Modern Technology has all but eliminated the need for physical activity throughout our day. Therefore, seeking out opportunities for such and for exercise are paramount.

MC: Describe a sedentary lifestyle health risk. What happens on our body? 

KH: A sedentary lifestyle puts us more at risk for CHD, high blood pressure, obesity, and chronic low back pain.

MC: According to the 2017 Annual Report of America's Health Rankings, 16.9 percent of Hispanic and 21.2 percent of black adults met the physical activity guidelines compared with 24.6 percent of white adults (2017). What is your observation about these racial and ethnic disparities in a sedentary lifestyle? 

KH: I actually have experienced consistent trends across ethnicities.

MC: From your knowledge and the facts, what can you speculate about how sedentary lifestyles will affect the future of our society? 

KH: National Institute on Aging believes despite the average life expectancy increasing by almost 30 years in the last 100, that over the coming decades it will decrease by almost 5 years!

RESOURCES & FURTHER INFORMATION

Fields, Lisa. “Do You Have Sitting Disease?” WebMD, WebMD, 12AD, www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/do-you-have-sitting-disease#1.

“2017 Annual Report of Physical Inactivity”, America's Health Rankings, https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/174/state/ALL?edition-year=2017

Conclusion

The sedentary lifestyle is a problem for the actual society because it comes with a health risk that can help to develop chronic diseases. Physical activity is essential to being healthy and little action in our daily basis can have a major influence on our bodies. For example, taking stairs, walking more and working out at least three days in a week can have a significant impact in our health. In other words, every person is responsible of their health and action toward being healthier and avoid future illnesses. People should realize the importance of this because the more they do the stronger and healthier they get. Overall, doing more physical activity is the first step to overcome a sedentary lifestyle.