Sedentary lifestyle is a medical

Medical terminology

Medical terminology is a vocabulary for accurately describing the human body and associated components, conditions, processes and process in a science-based manner. Some examples are: R.I.C.E., trapezius, and latissimus dorsi. It is to be used in the medical and nursing fields...

 term used to denote a type of lifestyle with no or irregular physical activity

Physical exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for the purpose of...

. A person who lives a sedentary lifestyle may colloquially be known as a couch potato. It is commonly found in both the developed and developing world. Sedentary activities include sitting

Sitting

Sitting is a rest position supported by the buttocks or thighs where the torso is more or less upright.- Sitting on the floor :The most common way of sitting on the floor involves bending the knees...

, reading

Reading (process)

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...

, watching television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 and computer use for much of the day with little or no vigorous physical exercise. A sedentary lifestyle can contribute to many preventable causes of death.

Health effects

A lack of physical activity

Physical exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for the purpose of...

 is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide.
A sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity can contribute to or be a risk factor for:

• Anxiety
  Anxiety
  Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
  
  
• Cardiovascular disease
  Cardiovascular disease
  Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...
  
  
• Mortality
  Death
  Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
  
   in elderly men by 30% and double the risk in elderly women
• Deep vein thrombosis
  Deep vein thrombosis
  Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein. Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected...
  
  
• Depression
  Depression (mood)
  Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
  
  
• Diabetes
• Colon cancer
• High blood pressure
  Hypertension
  Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
  
  
• Obesity
  Obesity
  Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
  
  
• Osteoporosis
  Osteoporosis
  Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...
  
  
• Lipid
  Lipid
  Lipids constitute a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others...
  
   disorders
• Kidney stone
  Kidney stone
  A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation formed in the kidneys from dietary minerals in the urine...
  
  s

Solutions

One response that has been adopted by many organizations concerned with health and environment is the promotion of active travel

Active travel

Active travel refers to an approach to travel and transport that focuses on physical activity as opposed to motorised and carbon-dependent means. Given that in the UK over 50% of car journeys are under 5 km, there exists considerable scope to replace motor car journeys with more active forms...

, which seeks to promote walking and cycling as safe and attractive alternatives to motorized transport. Given that many journeys are for relatively short distances, there is considerable scope to replace car use with walking or cycling, though in many settings this may require some infrastructure modification.

Implementing Wellness Programs is becoming another popular trend among organizations. Wellness programs can be unique to each organization and can focus on a variety of objectives. For example, some organizations try to get their employees moving through exercise classes at lunch or walking challenges among co-workers. Other organizations offer a number of different screenings for employees such as cholesterol or blood pressure screenings.

According to Worksite Health Promotion with Infinite Wellness Solutions, it is essential wellness programs have specific goals that provide a specific direction for the program. Goals can include keeping tracking of the number of participants who improved their fitness level or the number of participants screened.

History

It is characterized by sitting

Sitting

Sitting is a rest position supported by the buttocks or thighs where the torso is more or less upright.- Sitting on the floor :The most common way of sitting on the floor involves bending the knees...

 or remaining inactive for most of the day with little or no exercise.

Lack of exercise causes muscle atrophy

Muscle atrophy

Muscle atrophy, or disuse atrophy, is defined as a decrease in the mass of the muscle; it can be a partial or complete wasting away of muscle. When a muscle atrophies, this leads to muscle weakness, since the ability to exert force is related to mass...

, i.e. shrinking and weakening of the muscles and accordingly increases susceptibility to physical injury. Additionally, physical fitness

Physical fitness

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 is correlated with immune system function; a reduction in physical fitness is generally accompanied by a weakening of the immune system. A review in Nature Reviews Cardiology suggests that since illness or injury are associated with prolonged periods of enforced rest, such sedentariness has physiologically become linked to life-preserving metabolic and stress related responses such as inflammation

Inflammation

Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...

 that aid recovery during illness and injury but which due to being nonadaptive during health now lead to chronic diseases.

Despite the well-known benefits of physical activity, many adults and many children lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle and are not active enough to achieve these health benefits.

In the 2008 United States American National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 36% of adults were considered inactive. 59% of adult respondents never participated in vigorous physical activity lasting more than 10 minutes per week.

See also

• 9 to 5
• Active travel
  Active travel
  Active travel refers to an approach to travel and transport that focuses on physical activity as opposed to motorised and carbon-dependent means. Given that in the UK over 50% of car journeys are under 5 km, there exists considerable scope to replace motor car journeys with more active forms...
  
  
• Exercise trends
  Exercise trends
  Worldwide there has been a large shift towards less physically demanding work. This has been accompanied by increasing use of mechanized transportation, a greater prevalence of labor saving technology in the home, and less active recreational pursuits. At least 60% of the world's population does...
  
  
• Simple living
  Simple living
  Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle. These may include reducing one's possessions or increasing self-sufficiency, for example. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they need rather than want...
  
  
• Workaholic
  Workaholic
  A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
  
  
• Childhood inactivity and obesity in the United States