Why the UK Can't Stand Up for Itself - The Rise of Sedentary Lifestyles


Everywhere we look we're told to stay fit and healthy. Mainstream media often works under the assumption that obesity doesn't exist outside of brief comic relief, with beautifully toned actors and actresses living out the publics' televised fitness fantasies. In a bizarre contradiction to reality, levels of fitness are actually exaggerated beyond human ability. Professional models, often part of the 1% of UK society that's clinically underweight, are then photoshopped to unattainable levels for their magazine appearances, still considered too large in reality.

Yet 15 per cent of our children aged 2-15 are reported as overweight, with the name number again reported obese. 26 per cent of the general population in the UK is now obese, with an additional 30 per cent considered overweight. When less than half of the population possesses a normal Body Mass Index, it's time to start worrying about the lifestyles we're leading. Despite the insistence of mainstream media, our lives are becoming increasingly sedentary and it's becoming a difficult trend to buck.
Sedentary behaviour has been associated with cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and reduced fertility rates among men. It's suspected to immediately reduce lifetimes by at least two years. More worrying still, is that a sedentary lifestyle spent sitting or lying down damages the body separately from merely being inactive. It's still advisable to be physically active for a bare minimum of half an hour every day, yet this doesn't serve to reduce the risk of disease and back problems constantly sitting down poses to the public.
One of the factors at the core of this is that we're being actively discouraged from moving about during the day. Most people want to find a job above the minimum wage, but the vast majority of positions are based in offices, as are a good number of role that don't exceed the minimum wage. Employees find themselves involved in compulsory sitting for up to nine hours a day, sometimes more. And during this time they can only expect to see a 30-40 minute break for lunch. During these brief periods it's advised that employees go outside and head a little further afield for their lunch. But with tight recession budgets encouraging the public to pack a lunch from home, rather than visiting a shop on the day, it seems illogical to do anything other than simply eating at the desk, another unhealthy habit.
With time and money at a premium, it seems almost impossible to break these unhealthy habits. Though there a few techniques at hand to help reduce the effect of a sedentary lifestyle. Standing up to take telephone calls can have a measurable benefit on your health, as does removing chairs from meetings, or limiting them to ten minutes. Many offices have gotten into the habit of disallowing internal e-mails on specific days, forcing employees to walk around to share information, a process that has actually proved to save time in some scenarios.
The only reliable solution at hand is for individuals and companies to take notice of these health issues, and take measures to remain active. Having a walk while eating a small lunch can help considerably, as will taking each and every opportunity to stand up that presents itself throughout the day. It may not be possible to leave a sedentary lifestyle behind, but there are plenty of ways to minimise it.
Arnold Nevsky has been writing about health and fitness since he was allowed in a gym. Now a featured partner of Muscle Finesse, he hopes to reach a wider audience than ever before.

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