In an urban workplace environment, productivity is misconceived to go hand-in-hand with the number of hours spent on the desk. Most of the corporate cultures promote the adoption of sedentary lifestyles by waging in on the advantages one may achieve with sitting in front of a computer as opposed to a hard, laborious job. There are several among us who have ditched this sedentary path to success, and many are fortunate to have a job that requires them to undertake a considerable amount of physical activity for keeping them in shape.

But, we all are not that fortunate. The majority lies more towards people who have to take up 9-to-5 desk jobs. If you are not a part of this hard, because you would not need to know more about – what is a sedentary lifestyle? And how can it affect one’s health?

To keep it simple, a choice of occupation or work that requires us to be seated for the longest period of time in a day can be repurposed as a modern-day definition to a sedentary lifestyle. Now, for the well-to-do souls out there, a sedentary lifestyle may not necessarily mean working exhaustively. One may have unknowingly adopted a sedentary lifestyle just by opting out of any activity that keeps one on their heels. non-sedentary lifestyles are distinctly healthier and one doesn’t need to go for sedentary exercises as physical activity remains at peak level, enough to run the body metabolism effectively.

What is a Sedentary Lifestyle?

By introducing technology into our lives, things have become easily accessible, meaning one doesn’t have to go out of one’s way to get something – literally! Busy schedule and ability to communicate without being the proximity has propelled the penetration of a lifestyle more dangerous that some of the worst chronic disorders.

A lifestyle where an individual has the least amount of physical activity, which ultimately amounts to physical inactivity, is called sedentary. The most important characteristic defined by the adoption of a sedentary lifestyle revolves around its association with global mortality. Global surveys by leading health organizations reveal a sedentary lifestyle as the fourth leading risk factor in the world to cause the death of people.

This makes it even more important to understand the perils of a sedentary lifestyle.

Sedentary Lifestyle: Less Ups, More Downs

Knowing what’s a sedentary lifestyle isn’t enough to clearly understand the pros and cons associated with it. Since one a sitting down a majority of day’s time, there are ought to be more downs than ups for doing so. Unless one follows a strict regime of sedentary exercises, there aren’t any exceptions that making seated desk jobs good for one’s health.

Here are a few names of disorders that fall into the category of lifestyle disease list, particularly due to sedentary lifestyles.

Sedentary Lifestyle Disease List

• Osteoporosis (loss of spinal strength, back pain)
• Obesity (increasing body weight, joint pain)
• Myocardial Infarction (brain stroke caused by dyspnea)
• Prediabetes
• Hypertension
• Testicular Cancer
• Colorectal Cancer

In view of such disadvantages, a non-sedentary lifestyle continues to become a key focus area for future generations. One may take up a set of sedentary exercises to keep a healthy lifestyle or one may opt for a non-sedentary lifestyle altogether. A few good examples of non-sedentary jobs include photographers, journalists, chefs, event managers, production crew, personal trainers, fitness coaches, real estate brokers, and medical professionals. Seated leg raiser, desk squat, cubicle dip, casual lumberjacking, shoulder shrug, and wall push-ups are some sedentary exercises one may carry out at a desk job. Either way, both – non-sedentary lifestyle & sedentary exercises can potentially lower the chance of being at risk of such diseases.