It doesn’t matter if you eat healthy food, drink good and clean water, and live a hygienic life. The infectious diseases in this world may find hard to find you and attack you, but what about the other group of diseases? I am talking about the “Non Communicable Diseases” which are becoming the major killer diseases, in both developed and developing countries alike. Examples of these diseases include High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), Diabetes, Coronary Heart Diseases and even some cancers. Unlike a common cold or a flu, these diseases doesn’t spread from one person to another and that is the reason why they are called as the “Non Communicable” diseases. There are many ways in which one can become a prey of these diseases and Sedentary life style is one of the most important and easiest way.
What is Sedentary Life Style?
The word “Sedentary” means Sitting, Seated, Inactivity. When you enter into a profession which requires you to spend time bound to the desk, you will have to do the work sitting. Lack of physical activity can also be brought under sedentary life style. Jobs which require your muscle power are good enough for those employed in it. But IT professionals, Office workers, Health care workers, and others are the ones who can be categorised under the Sedentary jobs.
Approximately 3.2 million people die each year due to physical inactivity. People who are insufficiently physically active have a 20 to 30 % increased risk of mortality. Regular and committed physical activity prevents obesity and reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes, breast and colon cancer and depression. Compared to the past, lack of physical activity is now increasingly seen in both high and middle income countries especially among women. A study from Harvard has shown that Sedentary life style is more dangerous than smoking and is responsible for one in every 10 deaths occurring worldwide.
Why are we moving to Sedentary life styles?
You already know the answer to this question.
Easy is the word which defines the world we currently live in. Easy ways to make money, easy ways to make food, easy ways to get slim, easy ways to quit smoking, easy this and easy that. Why bother about the hard way when things can be done the easy way, right? Even if it’s not healthy for your body, who cares!
Everybody is running behind money that can be earned easily. Easy money making jobs are flourishing and more and more people are getting attracted to these jobs. These jobs are mostly white collar jobs and the lazy young generation are more interested in making money through these kind of jobs. I am not against these jobs, it is the attitude of the people towards their own health that has to be changed.
Once you start earning money, your work becomes your “Boss”. Every morning you wake up, eat something which can be made easily, then go for 8 hours work which often exceeds the 56 hours limit per week. You spend most of the time at the office in front of a monitor, glued to your comfy revolving chair. Things aren’t different when you reach home. The couch in the living room is your favourite spot. The couch will have all the remotes for the various electronic devices in your home. You find it unnecessary even to get up from your couch to switch on the fan or light and instead try to find a remote for that too. The average amount of time a person sits idly and inactively is much higher than what it used to be a decade ago.
You may find time for spending the weekend at the nearby shopping mall or cinema house, but you find it impossible to spare some time for exercises. Why is that? Is lack of time the real reason? Or is it your laziness?
Everybody thinks that doctors are intelligent enough to look after their own health. Most of the doctors advice their patients on healthy life styles and find it difficult to implement those healthy life styles in their own lives. Lack of time and laziness are two of the main reasons behind this.
Okay then, What should We do?
No matter how busy you are, find some time to workout. 30 minutes of workout everyday is enough to keep the “Non Communicable” diseases away. You can also go for a brisk walk, running is also good for health. Swimming is one of the most effective exercise as well as a hobby sport. Fitness gyms are not the only place to go to get healthy. Buy an exercise machine like a treadmill (non electrical) or an elliptical machine like Orbitrek Elite. Make a strong decision in your mind to workout at least 30 minutes a day irrespective of the circumstances. Find the right way to do some physical activity. If you are at office, take short breaks in between and do some moving around in your office.
Final Words
I am writing this article based on my own experiences too. About a year ago, when I felt that my life was becoming sedentary, I checked my blood cholesterol level and to my surprise, it was high. I used to walk a few miles then, but apparently that was not enough. Since I had no time for the gym, I bought my own elliptical exercise machine and my life has turned a healthy corner ever since. My day doesn’t feel right without a 30 minute workout on the Orbitrek Elite. After just 6 months of daily exercises, I checked my blood cholesterol and found it normal again 🙂
It’s not too late to make the decision to workout. But if you do plan to spend some money on exercise machines, make sure that you are committed to your exercise program, otherwise you will find your exercise machine as your new and expensive cloth hanger within a few months 🙂
