Health Issues | Go for a Walk! Extended Desk Sitting Increases Chances of Early Death

It has been repeatedly shown that sitting is the new smoking. An excessive amount of time spent hunched over an office desk raises the chance of an early death, particularly from heart disease, much like smoking cigarettes.

Increasing your daily physical activity may help mitigate the harmful consequences of leading a sedentary lifestyle. The most recent research found a link between prolonged sitting at work and a higher chance of dying young.

According to a January 19 JAMA research titled “Occupational Sitting Time, Leisure Physical Activity, and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality,” those who spend the most of their workdays sitting down have a greater death risk.

The research found that compared to those who were mostly employed, these people had a 16% greater risk of dying from all causes and a 34% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Despite its detrimental effects on health, prolonged periods of sitting at work are considered typical in today’s lifestyle and have not gotten enough attention. According to this research, increasing daily leisure-time physical activity for 15 to 30 minutes, along with alternating between sitting and standing at work, may help lower these risks.

The world is becoming more aware of the dangers of sedentary lifestyles, which prioritize prolonged sitting over standing, as metabolic disorders and cardiovascular problems rise.

As a result, the 2020 World Health Organization physical activity recommendations suggested decreasing sedentary behaviors for the first time due to their negative health effects.

This research is not the first to draw attention to the negative consequences of extended sitting. Numerous previous studies have shown that prolonged sitting leads to obesity as well as a host of other comorbid diseases, including elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, extra body fat around the waist, and harmful cholesterol levels.

Other health problems include leg clots, osteoporosis, back pain, and tight hips. Excessive sitting has also been linked to an increased risk of cancer, however the precise cause is yet unknown.

Walking is a straightforward remedy that many consider to be the closest thing to a miracle medication.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
The precise relationship between extended occupational sitting and health is less well understood, particularly in light of low levels of physical exercise.

The researchers of the most recent study stated that although extended sitting is widely known to be a risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and early death, the exact relationship between extended occupational sitting and health is not well understood, especially in environments with low levels of physical activity.

The mortality risk was compared between those who sit at work most of the time and those who do not in a study that had a follow-up of almost 13 years.

Even after controlling for sex, age, education, smoking, drinking, and body mass index, people who primarily sat at work had a higher risk of death from all causes (16%) and cardiovascular disease (34%), compared to people who primarily did not sit. This cohort study included 4.81 lakh participants over a mean follow-up period of 12.85 years.

According to this research, reducing extended durations of sitting at work and/or increasing daily physical activity may help reduce the higher risks of cardiovascular disease and death from all causes that are associated with prolonged sitting at work.

CAN I ADVERTISE WALKING?
You may be asking yourself why, for so many of your ailments, your doctor keeps recommending that you include walking into your daily regimen.

Studies have shown that walking has amazing health advantages. For example, in order to determine the effect of 32 obesity-related genes on body weight, nearly 12,000 people were studied by Harvard researchers. Individuals who walked vigorously for around one hour every day had a 50% decrease in the impact of these genes on their weight.

In another, women who walked for seven hours or more a week had a 14% lower risk of breast cancer than those who walked for three hours or less, according to a research done by the American Cancer Society that was exclusively focused on walking.

According to a 2017 research, walking and other physical activities increase the brain’s levels of the protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. Among other brain activities, BDNF is essential for cognitive processes including thinking, learning, and remembering.

Just 30 minutes a day of walking has been shown in several studies to improve cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce extra body fat, and increase muscular strength and endurance.

ACTION TO TAKE?
One of the study’s key conclusions is that, in order to lower their heightened risk to the same level as those who mostly stand or move at work, persons who spend the majority of their workdays sitting down should strive for an additional 15 to 30 minutes of physical exercise each day.

To encourage breaks, doctors urge people to use fitness monitors or phones to create reminders that should be triggered every 30 minutes. Even if you’re just using the elevator for a part of the trip, choose the stairs over the elevator. Move around, stand up, or drink water during pauses.

Instead of using elevators, people might choose to utilize stairs and adjustable workstations for occasional standing. Additionally, one might adopt the practice of standing or walking while making phone conversations or participating in video chats.

It’s time to move and take a stroll.