How To Overcome a Sedentary Lifestyle

For more than 15 years, the World Health Organization, WHO, has made sedentary behaviour a global public health issue and is attempting to eradicate its effects across the globe. Would you like to know more about the effects of sedentary living? Would you like to overcome a sedentary lifestyle? If you answered yes--keep watching!

To properly address the phenomenon of sedentary living, it would be wise to know its etymology. The word "sedentary" is derived from an old English word sedent, which in turn is borrowed from the Latin sedentarius meaning "one who works while seated". It is also a derivative of the Latin sedere meaning "to sit". So I repeat my question: are you sedentary?

In our modern, service-oriented societies, where we travel almost exclusively by car and public transportation, where we spend most of our time at the office sitting behind a screen, it goes without saying that a large part of the population leads a sedentary lifestyle. The lack of physical exercise that characterizes a sedentary lifestyle unfortunately has serious consequences on our health. According to the WHO, "approximately 3.2 million deaths each year can be attributed to a lack of exercise".

In an article published in the newspaper Le Devoir, Jean-Pierre Després, professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the Faculty of Medicine of Laval University, does not hesitate to say that "a sedentary lifestyle is more deadly than tobacco".
Dr. François Carré, a cardiologist specializing in sedentary lifestyles at the University Hospital of Rennes and co-founder of the sedentary lifestyles observatory, stated on the television program 'The chair which kills' that "more than 35 chronic diseases are promoted by physical inactivity and the time spent sitting down". He also adds that "sedentary time increases cancer rates by 25%".

When asked about the cost of a sedentary lifestyle to society, he estimates it to be at 92 billion Canadian dollars, or 60 billion euros, per year worldwide.
Given this alarming fact as well as the picture painted of the devastation caused by inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle, it is only natural to wonder if there exists a remedy for this scourge. Here again, Dr. Carré provides an answer by saying that "30 minutes of moderate physical activity per day" is a basic treatment. He goes on to say that: "the first treatment for moderate hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and mild to moderate depression is physical activity." He also adds that "the first preventive treatment against Alzheimer's disease is walking".

So, how can we overcome a sedentary lifestyle? 30 minutes of moderate walking per day. You don't need to buy the latest smartwatch or gadget to count your steps. Get moving, walk moderately for 30 minutes a day, and let your body, your family and your friends benefit from it. 

Be smart! For example:

• Park your vehicle a little farther from your destination to ensure a longer walk.
• Take active breaks every hour or two.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Rethink your daily commute to encourage walking.

Let us take on this challenge of modern life that we all face. Walk! Not in demonstrations, but walk for the cause of sedentary living. Like and share this video and maybe you will unknowingly save a few extra years of life for your family, friends or colleagues. If we all do our part, it would probably be a small step for man but a big step for humanity against sedentary living.