Sedentary lifestyle facts for kids
A sedentary lifestyle means you spend most of your time sitting or lying down. People with this lifestyle do not get much physical activity or exercise. They might spend many hours each day doing things like watching TV, playing video games, reading, or using a phone or computer.
Living a sedentary lifestyle can lead to poor health and many serious health problems. It is a major reason for preventable deaths around the world.
Many people spend a lot of time sitting. Studies show that the average person sits for about 5 to 6.5 hours every day. This amount is increasing each year. In the United States, about one-fourth of adults do not get enough physical activity.
Screen time is how long someone looks at a screen, like a TV, computer, or phone. Spending too much time looking at screens can also cause health problems.
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What Is Sedentary Behavior?
Sedentary behavior is not the same as being physically inactive. Sedentary behavior means any waking activity where you use very little energy. This includes sitting, leaning back, or lying down.
So, even if you are not exercising, you might not be completely sedentary. But sitting or lying down for most of your waking hours is a sign of a sedentary lifestyle. Experts say a sedentary lifestyle involves sitting for more than six hours a day.
How a Sedentary Lifestyle Affects Your Health
Spending too much time sitting or being inactive can directly or indirectly affect your health.
One direct effect is gaining weight. This can lead to obesity, which means having too much body fat. Not being active enough is one of the main reasons for preventable deaths worldwide.
In the US alone, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle cause many early deaths. They also lead to billions of dollars in healthcare costs each year. The risk of health problems is higher for people who sit for more than 5 hours a day. This risk is true even if they exercise sometimes or have a healthy weight.
People who sit for more than 4 hours a day have a 40% higher risk of health issues. This is compared to those who sit less than 4 hours a day. However, if you exercise for at least 4 hours a week, you can be as healthy as someone who sits less.
Indirectly, gaining weight from a sedentary lifestyle can make you less productive. It can also cause you to miss important activities like school or work.
A sedentary lifestyle can cause or increase the risk of:
- Anxiety
- Heart problems
- Bad headaches
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Eye strain (from too much screen time)
- Feeling very sad
- Diabetes
- Gout
- High blood pressure
- Lipid disorders (problems with fats in your blood)
- Early death
- Obesity
- Weak bones
- Curved spine
- Back pain
- Weight gain
How to Prevent a Sedentary Lifestyle
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Adults and children spend many hours sitting at work or school. Because of this, efforts to prevent sedentary behavior often focus on these places. Public campaigns can also help people reduce sitting time. They can also encourage people to be more physically active.
In Cities and Towns
Some studies show that living near busy roads might mean less physical activity. More active people tend to live in neighborhoods where it is easy to walk. In China's fast-growing cities, more people are becoming overweight or inactive. This is partly due to how cities are built.
At Work
Many adults spend a lot of their workday sitting. Some workplaces now offer exercise classes during lunch. They might also have walking challenges for employees. Some allow workers to stand at their desks instead of sitting. These changes help reduce sitting time at work.
At School
Children spend most of their time in the classroom sitting. This can be up to 60% of their time. Kids who are regularly active are more likely to be healthy adults. Being active helps children both physically and mentally.
Despite this, children today have about 8 fewer hours of free play each week than 20 years ago. This is partly due to more sedentary behaviors.
Some schools have tried using height-adjustable standing desks in classrooms. These desks have helped reduce the time children spend sitting. One study in Australia, called the Transform-Us! study, showed good results. It found that reducing sitting time in the classroom was linked to lower body weight for children.
The study used standing desks, easels, and timers. Teachers also made lessons more active. They added breaks to lessons to encourage movement. In the US, programs like Safe Routes to School encourage children to walk or bike to school. This helps them be more active.
History of Sedentary Lifestyles
Over the last 100 years, there has been a big change in jobs. Many jobs used to involve manual labor, like farming or building. Now, more jobs are in offices. This change is due to technology and other factors.
In 1960, about half of all jobs required moderate physical activity. By 2011, this dropped to only one in five jobs. From 1990 to 2016, manual labor jobs decreased by about one-third.
A 2008 survey in the United States found that 36% of adults were inactive. Also, 59% of adults never did vigorous physical activity for more than 10 minutes a week. A 2018 study showed that office workers typically sit for 70-85% of their workday.
From 2001 to 2016, the time spent using computers outside of school or work increased. For children, it went from 43% to 56%. For teenagers, it went from 53% to 57%. For adults, it went from 29% to 50%. Total sitting time also increased from 2007 to 2016. For teenagers, it went from 7.0 to 8.2 hours a day. For adults, it went from 5.5 to 6.4 hours a day.
See also
- 9 to 5
- Preventable causes of death
- Automobile dependency
- Childhood obesity
- Effects of the car on societies
- Exercise trends
- Laziness
- Neurobiological effects of physical exercise
- Obesity and walking
- Simple living
- Physical activity
- Exercise
- Sloth (deadly sin)
- Workaholic
- Lack of physical education
