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Laziness Can 'Really' Kill You, Reports Study

It's not just you - its the whole world. A recent study has come up with the finding that currently a large number of the population has chosen to be on the couches than out, breathing the fresh air. With hundreds of health platforms and diet techniques, along with new exercise that can be equally fun and rewarding, the world is not really being very active with level of laziness hiking exponentially - and I wonder why!

With exercise being considered a natural part of your day-to-day life and so and so forth, it looks like not all of us are cogently working. The number of people chained to a lifestyle with no physical movement is on the rise now (Well, blame the super cool technological innovations yeah!).

A Sedentary Lifestyle - An Environmental Disease

Our bodies are designed to move and let me tell you, looking at the current reports, the designer may not be quite proud of their creation. Our current habits of no-exercise/no movement are putting our ancestors to shame; who had been hunting, farming and engaging in intense manual labour for millions of years.

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As per recent reports, nearly one out of every three women and one in four men around the world did not adhere to the recommended levels of physical activity (which is at least 150 minutes of average physical activity, or 75 minutes of exercise every week).

Years of evolution may have made our brains superior (have they?) but along with it, we have also decided that movement is redundant. Science and technology have undoubtedly made our lives easier, yes, with all the time-energy-money-saving advances that have helped us mechanise our life and of course, have reduced the amount of time we spend moving [1] [2] .

But looking at the recent study reports, it does not look like we may have much time to enjoy all the new things in the technological era. Looks like our lazy way of living can bring us closer to the final countdown. It has become the major (or sole) contributor to various health problems and risks, with some posing mortal dangers.

A Lazy Lifestyle Can Cause Severe Health Problems

The recent study was able to point out that a sedentary lifestyle is raising the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes - all around the globe. According to the reports developed by the World Health Organization, one-quarter of the planet's population is at their lowest [3] .

Our environment has made it easy for us to live inherently lazy, but along with it, the health risks it can develop seem to go unnoticed by the public. The head researcher of the study asserted that "with advances in measuring physical activity levels, we have discovered, to our horror, that 95% of the UK population are not even doing the minimum recommended amounts of physical activity to confer even basic health benefit" [4] .

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A sedentary lifestyle can cause the development of more than forty medically recognised and chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, mental illness, dementia and different types of cancer [5] .

An Inactive Week Is Equal To Smoking A Pack Of Cigarettes

Whether you are slim-built or on the heavier side, a person leading a sedentary lifestyle has similar chances of dying young like that of a smoker. The study also pointed out that every week spent inactive is roughly equivalent to smoking a whole packet of cigarettes - imagine the horror.

Unlike smoking, the health problems caused by a sedentary lifestyle are more than plenty - seldom ending [4] . Inactivity in children leads to obesity and reduced academic performance across all socio-economic classes, while in working adults it can lead to increased time off work and decreased productivity [6] . In the elderly, quality of life and independence are severely reduced, whilst health care costs can sky-rocket.

Not Only Health Problems, But Also Unhappiness

Apart from the string of health problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle, your mental health too is at risk here. A sedentary lifestyle can impact your mental health in several ways, reducing your quality of life and causing unhappiness.

Not only is spending too much time on your sofa bad for your overall health, seeing yourself being lazy is simply detrimental to your mental health [7] .

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However, Being Active Can Help Reverse The Health Risks

In closing, the researchers asserted that sedentary living is the most prevalent disease, the biggest silent killer and greatest health threat facing developed countries [8] . But, choosing to become physically active again can help one in reversing the adverse effects it has had on your health.

Understand and recognise the slump you are in and take steps to break out of your lazy cycle. Here are some steps you can consider for getting rid of your lazy streak and getting a grasp of on your life [9] .

  • Make your goals manageable
  • Create a plan of action
  • Use your strengths
  • Use positive instead of negative self-talk
  • Recognize your accomplishments along the way
  • Ask for help
  • Avoid distraction
  • Reward yourself

In the health scenario, here are some healthy changes that could help you [10] .

  • Eat high-protein foods, as it helps increase energy levels
  • Quit smoking
  • Avoid sugary and high-fat foods
  • Carry water with you
  • Exercise
  • Get enough sleep and rest
  • Manage stress

Now that you are done reading the article for the first time, I recommend you do it the next time while getting a walk (you can listen to this article and walk - how about that now, yeah).

View Article References
  1. [1] Al Hajeri, M. E., DFM, D., Al Ansarri, M. S., Sport, P. H. D., Al Hajeri, A. A., Ali, M. D., ... & Ali, N. A. (2019). University Student Health Survey. Bahrain Medical Bulletin, 41(1).
  2. [2] Mainous III, A. G., Tanner, R. J., Rahmanian, K. P., Jo, A., & Carek, P. J. (2019). Effect of Sedentary Lifestyle on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Healthy Adults With Body Mass Indexes 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m2. The American journal of cardiology, 123(5), 764-768.
  3. [3] Leewak, D. (2019, September 05). Laziness is putting a quarter of adults’ health at risk. Retrieved from, https://nypost.com/2018/09/05/laziness-is-putting-a-quarter-of-adults-health-at-risk-study/
  4. [4] Park, L. G., Dracup, K., Whooley, M. A., McCulloch, C., Lai, S., & Howie-Esquivel, J. (2019). Sedentary lifestyle associated with mortality in rural patients with heart failure. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 18(4), 318-324.
  5. [5] Niemelä, O., Nivukoski, U., Bloigu, A., Bloigu, R., Aalto, M., & Laatikainen, T. (2019). Laboratory test based assessment of WHO alcohol risk drinking levels. Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation, 79(1-2), 58-64.
  6. [6] AlQuaiz, A. M., Siddiqui, A. R., Kazi, A., Batais, M. A., & Al-Hazmi, A. M. (2019). Sedentary lifestyle and Framingham risk scores: a population-based study in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. BMC cardiovascular disorders, 19(1), 88.
  7. [7] Ahmad, S., Nazim, M., Munir, R., Ilyas, H. M. F., Asghar, N., & Muzaffar, H. (2019). ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE; SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE AS A MAJOR RISK FACTOR OF ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE. Professional Medical Journal, 26(2).
  8. [8] Sweegers, M. G., Boyle, T., Vallance, J. K., Chinapaw, M. J., Brug, J., Aaronson, N. K., ... & Phillips, S. M. (2019). Which cancer survivors are at risk for a physically inactive and sedentary lifestyle? Results from pooled accelerometer data of 1447 cancer survivors. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 16(1), 66.
  9. [9] Network, C. R. (2019). A Countryside for Health and Wellbeing: The physical and mental health benefits of green exercise. Public Health.
  10. [10] Pate, R. R., & Dowda, M. (2019). Raising an active and healthy generation: a comprehensive public health initiative. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 47(1), 3-14.

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