The coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of everyone on the planet. One of the problems of greatest concern to health authorities around the world, and in every country, is the physical inactivity associated with confinement and mobility restrictions.
The most serious current data indicate that more than a quarter of the world’s population does not get enough physical exercise. And this is a very worrying fact in terms of health.
Will we all end up like the characters in the futuristic animated film Wall-E? At the rate things are going, that scenario could be real in the future.
The data also indicate that it is high-income countries that are becoming increasingly sedentary. In wealthy countries, such as the UK, the rate of physical inactivity is twice that of low-income countries.
We are becoming more sedentary thanks to technology
The phenomenon only expanded with the covid 19 pandemic. But the advance of sedentary lifestyles in our societies goes back a long way. It has to do with industrialization and technological development that makes us more and more sedentary.
Without realizing it, touchscreen cell phones and other devices have changed our lifestyle to a more sedentary model.
People spend more and more time sitting, both at work and in their free time. We are always in a chair, using the computer, watching TV, playing games on the Internet and even commuting on short trips. It is certainly comfortable, but comfort is a health hazard.
During the pandemic, the UK’s best online casinos have experienced unprecedented growth. This is something that has happened throughout the online gambling industry worldwide.
Even when the pandemic is over, this boom is expected to continue. Mobility restrictions have dulled us and made our desires for uninterrupted rest greater.
Sedentary lifestyles and pandemic
Researchers have found that during the pandemic, active teleworkers spent an average of 3 hours more sitting than before the coronavirus came to disrupt everything.
Occupational risk prevention experts have been unable to address the situation despite recommending, with success in many cases, increased active breaks for office workers or teleworkers.
Increased active breaks have not been sufficient to counteract the effect of the decline in planned physical exercise.
Moreover, it is not only a question of working sitting down but also of working badly sitting down. In Spain, more than 14% of people who telework do so from bed or the sofa. Neither is the right place to work without risk to health.
Since before the pandemic, sedentary lifestyles were considered the epidemic of the 21st century. After these turbulent years, we can say that this situation is now even worse than 24 months ago.
Why not being sedentary is good
At this point it seems pointless to explain once again the health benefits of moderate and frequent physical activity.
Let’s repeat it anyway. One of the main benefits of not being sedentary is to avoid the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
As if that were not enough, some very serious studies indicate that a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for the development of some types of cancer, such as colon, prostate, ovarian or uterine cancer.
In children under 18 years of age, reducing sedentary lifestyles helps to maintain physical fitness, maintain an adequate weight and is fundamental in the development of social skills. It also improves learning and attention.
With these data in mind, we believe it is time to think again and seriously consider physical exercise.
We just have to modify our routines a little. Let’s get up more often from the chair in which we are sitting. Let’s think that if mankind has come this far, it was not precisely because we were sitting still and resting.
