ButWhat do health workers mean when they talk about a sedentary lifestyle?? Those people who do not do any type of physical activity or only those who spend many hours sitting?

Well according to him Dr. David Dominguezspecialist of Internal Medicine Service of the Clínic Barcelona hospital sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity are different things.

• “A person who spends several hours sitting at work or watching television and does not meet the minimum physical activity recommendations is considered sedentary and physically inactive at the same time.”

• “In addition, It is possible for a person to meet weekly physical activity recommendations while remaining in sedentary positions for long periods. such as sitting, lying or reclining while awake. In this case, the person can be considered simultaneously sedentary and physically active”, clarifies the expert.

The specialist gives an example: during a workday, a person can sit in front of the computer for about 7 hours. And even if you do physical exercise 30 minutes a day five days a weekthis activity “alone would not be sufficient to completely eliminate the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle on health.”

The dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and low physical activity.

According to a study that analyzed the relationship between physical activity, sedentary time and the risk of death early conducted with data from more than 44,000 middle-aged and older men and women, The combination of physical activity and sedentary time exerts a significant influence on the risk of mortality.

Specifically, those people who did less physical exercise had a higher risk of death. And this risk increased even more in the case of people who also spent more time sedentary.

And although it is true that the risk of death in a sedentary person It is attenuated when more time is dedicated to physical activity, the truth is that the risk does not disappear completely. This study concluded that, To reduce your risk, you may need at least 30 to 40 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity physical activity each day.

But it is not only necessary to increase the time we dedicate to physical activity or its intensity, but we must combat sedentary lifestyle to actually reduce the risk of death.

Guidelines for maintaining an active lifestyle

Leaving aside the need to incorporate physical activity into our daily routineswe must combat sedentary lifestyle by adopting an active lifestyle.

And what does this consist of?

Well, Dr. Domínguez explains that it is about “making conscious decisions to incorporate movement into daily activitiesas walking or cycling, standing, climbing stairs or taking active breaks”.

These types of breaks can be planned and adapted to each person’s work, home or school routines.

We do not need to spend a lot of time nor will it require a lot of effort, but, in exchange, are going to have a significant impact on our healthin the short and long term.

Once we have managed to carry out these simple guidelines, we must add physical activity to the equation.

• The World Health Organization establishes weekly physical activity recommendations, between 150 and 300 minutes. of moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week for all adults, including people living with chronic conditions or disabilities.

• and an average of 60 minutes a day for children and adolescents.

Adopting active habits in daily life contributes considerably to maintaining good physical and mental health.