The new smoking. No, I am not going to address vaping, or snuff or chewing betel nut. Thankfully, the incidence of smoking is going down in most countries – but it has been a long and arduous journey to change attitudes and behaviours.
Although millions of people around the world have suffered the consequences of smoking by ill health or premature death – almost 500,000 deaths per year still in the USA, and over 40,000 just from second-hand smoke – the numbers are gradually diminishing.
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The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the incidence of smoking has dropped from 42% in 1965 to less than 14% by 2019 in that country.
But, before we pat ourselves on the back too quickly, there is a new habit that is just as dangerous to our health. It is called sedentarism.
In an article in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Matthew Fox suggested that there should be a warning label attached to office chairs and lounge couches: “This device is harmful for your health!” Prolonged inactivity is as dangerous for your health as was smoking.
Inactivity increases blood markers of inflammation and ill-health. It causes higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. It causes insulin resistance and thus the risk of diabetes – independent from dietary factors.
It promotes coronary heart disease and blood pressure and the risk of various cancers – colon, breast, prostate, pancreatic and uterine cancers. It affects our brains by increasing depression, anxiety and Alzheimer’s. It also encourages osteoporosis and aggravates arthritis.
Inactivity can happen from sitting at a work desk all day, or from lounging in front of the TV or playing computer games for hours on end. Yet it takes very little to significantly reduce the risks.
It may be just getting up every 20 minutes to take a stroll around the garden, or to visit the loo; it may be as simple as lifting your heels off the floor up and down for two minutes to get the calf muscles pumping blood into your circulation; or it may be as uncomplicated as standing in front of a desk rather than sitting on a chair.
The guidelines suggest 30 minutes of moderate exercise (like walking, swimming, cycling) five days per week, or 15 minutes of vigorous activity like jogging, or skipping or gym cardio workouts five days per week. However, any activity is better than none, even if you break it up into two to three sessions to accommodate your work demands.
Two or three sessions of strengthening or resistance-training activities per week will build muscle strength and enhance health.
So, to improve your health, actively confront sedentarism.
Dr Dave Glass
MBChB, FCOG(SA), DipIBLM
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