Sedentary lifestyle causes more death than smoking, says a study

The American Heart Association makes the following statement:

 "Physical inactivity — Lack of physical activity is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Regular aerobic exercise plays a significant role in preventing heart and blood vessel disease. Even modest levels of low-intensity physical activity are beneficial if done regularly and long term. Exercise can help control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity as well as help to lower blood pressure."

“i sit in a cubicle and im getting fat” 
Whoever searched that and ended up on my blog – I feel you

In today's world, a lot of people just sit around. They spend endless hour watching TV, and they hold jobs that require them to sit behind a desk for 8 or 9 or 10 hours a day engaging in virtually no physical movement at all. As a result, they are being diagnosed with chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory ailments -- all related to a lack of regular physical exercise.

A new study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association says: 

“Compared with people who watched less than two hours of television daily, those who watched more than four hours a day had a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes and an 80 percent increased risk for CVD-related death. This association held regardless of other independent and common cardiovascular disease risk factors, including smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, unhealthy diet, excessive waist circumference, and leisure-time exercises.”

I get restless just thinking about the fact that I sit all day at work, then come home and sit around simply grade exams, spend time on the net, write articles here and there, etc. No I dont watch TV for 4 hours but I have to admit that I live a sedentary life style. From 8:30am to 2pm, I am simply confined to my desk, which translates into watching TV for more than 4 hours everyday.  I fail to exercise.  I simply find it hard to walk or jog alone in the public here in Kurdistan.  Roads are usually not paved for walking. As for parks, well they are usually reserved for social get togethers and you will hardly notice anyone, esp. single females running in parks with ear-phones on. 

Exercising remains to be a low priority for many. People ask, how can I avoid all of these cardiovascular problems without actually having to do the exercises? Is there a way that I can get the benefit of this physical exercise without having to move my body? And the answer to that is simply, no. You have to actually do it if you want to get the benefits from it. No one can do it for you, no prescription drugs or a dietary supplement can give you the same effects, no surgical procedure can create the health that your body would create on its own when you engage in regular physical exercise. This is something you must pursue on your own if you desire to experience the positive health results it offers.

The aforementioned cardiovascular diseases can be prevented and even frequently reversed through physical exercise alone. Looking at why physical exercise makes individuals so much healthier gives us an interesting perspective on how the human body really works. The human body is designed to move around. And by moving the muscles, ligaments and limbs, you actually massage the tissues and organs of the body, bringing them oxygen and enhancing their flexibility. 

You also move lymph fluid around the body, and lymph must be moved through physical activity alone since there is no "lymph heart" to circulate lymph fluid regardless of your physical activity like there is with your cardiovascular system. (In other words, your heart pumps your blood even if you're sitting in a chair. But there's nothing to pump your lymph fluid other than sloshing your body around through regular movement.)

Physical activity gets everything moving in your body -- the blood, the oxygen, the nutrients, the cellular respiration, the nervous system, and so on. Sweating is good for you as well -- you sweat out toxins and replace the lost liquids by drinking fresh, clean water. Physical exercise, if done outside, also exposes you to the healing effects of natural sunlight, an essential nutrient for the human body that is deficient in most people. Getting enough sunlight on your skin can prevent and even reverse an astounding number of chronic diseases such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, osteoporosis and more.

If you put all of this together, you see that physical exercise is extremely beneficial to the human body, and in fact the body won't live nearly as long without it.  A mere 30 minutes a day of walking, swimming, jogging, cycling or other cardio movements can have astounding positive health effects.