Move for your health!
A sedentary or sitting lifestyle is becoming a major public health issue. Constipation, stiffness... There are signs that can ring alarm bells. We list these signs for you and provide practical tips that you can easily apply! After all, exercise is good for the body and mind.
Sedentary behavior is defined as any activity involving sitting or lying down, with very low energy expenditure, during the waking period (between getting up and going to sleep).1 According to the World Health Organization, adults and the elderly should engage in at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity or 150 to 300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week (you can find more information about this for yourself, your friends, and family on our blog).2
A sedentary lifestyle: health consequences
Sedentary behavior is at the root of various diseases, has a negative impact on mental health, and can cause premature death.2,3
A few figures2:
- Insufficient physical activity is the 4th leading cause of death worldwide;
- 3.2 million people die every year as a result of a sedentary lifestyle; this is 6% of all deaths;
- A lack of physical activity is the primary cause of:
30 minutes of exercise per day is enough to reap the benefits
Signs that you are not moving enough4
If you don't move enough, your body will let you know.
Watch out for these signs:
- constipation;
- muscle spasms;
- joint stiffness;
- getting short of breath easily;
- feeling sad or in a bad mood.
6 tips and tricks to move more
- Make exercise part of your work. If you work from home, buy a mini leg trainer for under your desk or walk around while on the phone. If you have to go to work, perhaps you can hold smaller meetings outside?5
- Replace your office chair with a balance ball. With such a ball, you can do both stretching exercises and various abdominal exercises, all while remaining at your desk.5
- Make your activities with friends or family more adventurous! If you organize a game night, replace playing cards with active games, such as escape rooms or video games that require you to move. When you are outside, do more than just the necessary daily travel and explore your local area.5,6
- Exercise or do stretching exercises in front of the TV. Walk on a treadmill, use a stationary bike, do floor stretches, use weights to build strength, or do some abdominal exercises the next time you watch Netflix.5,6
- Choose a balanced diet. To get a little more energy for all that movement, it is best to eat slow carbohydrates (bananas and whole-grain pasta and rice) and proteins (soy, nuts, beans, etc.) with every meal.7
- Work bit by bit towards a more active lifestyle. And since you are already working on your health by moving, you might want to read on our blog how laughter can also have a positive influence on body and mind.
Scientific references
Product mentioned in this article
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