There is some confusion between sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity, and it is that, although they are similar, they are actually different concepts. Today we are going to clarify their differences to know how to use both words properly. Of course, neither of the two situations is optimal, you have to do moderate physical exercise several times a week, along with a healthy, varied and balanced diet.
Today we are going to learn the difference between sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity. They are two concepts that are often confused, that is why we wanted to make it our own to explain it in this text quickly and easily so that the confusions are ended as soon as possible.
According to the WHO, an average adult should perform about 150 minutes a week of moderate activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous activity. But the reality is quite different and is that only a small percentage of society meets these standards, the rest have a very sedentary life and some are very inactive.
Exercising is full of virtues, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Many people believe they are physically active and that is why they get rid of such diseases, and it is not entirely true.
What is sedentary lifestyle? And be inactive?
We go by parts, on the one hand, we have a sedentary lifestyle or sedentary attitude and that consists of the scarcity or null performance of physical activities during the hours that we are awake. That is, instead of going up the stairs we use the elevator, instead of walking to a place we go by car or bus, among other examples.
Sedentary lifestyle refers to activities that are carried out and that hardly have an energy expenditure such as sitting, lying down, not doing housework, not walking, etc. All of this increases the chances of suffering from heart disease, diabetes and even cancer, apart from obesity.
On the other hand, we have physical inactivity. This refers to not meeting the minimum times established to have a healthy life. In other words, we know that an average adult has to do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Anything below these minimum numbers is considered inactivity.
Many of us believe that we are physically active when in reality we do not even reach the minimum limits. Hence, experts emphasize so much the importance of practicing sports, in addition, the vast majority of countries are highly sedentary and inactive.
We are designed for movement
Humans have thousands of years of evolution and we are made to be in motion, that is why when we are inactive for so long and with a sedentary attitude, our body begins a transformation and even some symptoms of depression begin.
Spending many hours sitting while we work, also moving around without doing physical activity, many hours lying down in our moments of leisure, this makes us be in the red zone and be prone to developing heart disease.
The human body is designed for movement and activity, always within the limits of one’s own body or state of health, of course. And it is that everything that is not moving, brings us closer to diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cholesterol, hypertension, heart problems, etc.
This is due not only to the fact that the human body needs to be in motion, but also that those who develop sedentary attitudes and do not do all the exercise they should, accompany it with a poor diet where fast foods, sugary drinks, pastries are abundant. industrial, ready meals, etc.
We do not mean that if we eat healthy, but have an inactive or sedentary lifestyle, nothing will happen to us. On the contrary, we have the same risk, perhaps a little less, but we will continue in the red zone. You have to find motivation and start exercising several times a week.
If we have not practiced sports for a long time, we recommend starting very little by little and increasing intensity. For example, going out for several kilometers, then adding extra weight, then walking faster, interspersing those walks with exercises such as push-ups, jumping jacks, jumping rope, burpees, plank, calisthenics, squats, etc.
Benefits of being an active person
It has already been clear that a sedentary lifestyle is not good and being inactive is not beneficial either, so we want to take the opportunity to give some advice and improve our life , even slightly. We say this because, until you decide to exercise yourself, it does not matter what you see outside or what others tell you.
With social networks, infinite scrolling, teleworking, streaming platforms, and such, our life has become more sedentary and inactive, even not doing any physical activity all week. There is also something that worsens this situation and it is miracle diets and substitute foods and drinks.
Instead of wanting to lose 5 kilos in 15 days, which is very dangerous, what we have to do is put ourselves in the hands of a professional and re-educate ourselves to achieve a good lifestyle that is formed by a good diet and playing sports. In addition to moving away from those substitute meals that promise that with a shake we already have half the calories that an adult needs in their day to day. The ingredients are usually 60 or 70% sugars, colorants, stabilizers, flavor enhancers, regulators, etc. Nothing healthy.
We always recommend going to the source, that is, if we are going to have a smoothie flavored with such fruit, it is better to have that fruit at home. Everything that is substituted or processed, will never be healthy for the body.
- Playing sports in adolescence improves performance in studies, fosters social and linguistic skills and self-esteem.
- Rest and stretch the body each time we are sitting working and activate it with some repetitions of an activity such as squats, compa, burpees, dancing, etc.
- Use a height-adjustable desk or table.
- Doing some kind of physical activity keeps us from being overweight, diabetes and heart disease.
- A sedentary life or with little physical activity makes us prone to developing cancer.
- Playing sports during pregnancy helps the correct development of the fetus.
