Too Much Sitting Will Kill You

Computer, notebook, Smartphone. These gadgets make our life fun and easy. But beware. These gadgets could also kill you. Why? Because they might lead you toward sedentary lifestyle.

What is sedentary lifestyle? It means you do much sitting with little physical activities. According to data released by Indonesia’s ministry of health, Jakarta People are the least active physically. Only about 55% of them do enough physical activities. The rest do physical activities less than 150 minutes each week.

Dr. Mike Loosemore,, Head of Sport Medicine at University College Hospital, said that sedentary had become one of the biggest challenges in public health nowadays. Based on research conducted by Get Britain Standing and the British Heart Foundation to about 2000 persons, the most vulnerable groups experiencing sedentary lifestyle is office workers. Most of them spend hours sitting on their chair, looking at their computer, doing their busy work.  Sitting for too long is a bad habit. It could risk your health in the long run. Many diseases are ready to come.

There are some behaviors that could lead us towards sedentary lifestyle without we realize them. First, eating at your working desk. According to British Heart Foundation, at lunchtime, about 50% of employees prefer eating their lunch at the desk instead of going out of the room. This will encourage people to eat more food. As a result, it can cause overweight and obesity. Second, people are often so busy that they postpone going to the restroom. Again, this is not good for your health since it can cause infection in your bladder. Your kidney health will also be at risk. Third, not doing enough walk. Many office workers walk less than 30 minutes a day. Even with their colleague or coworker who is sitting very close to them, they prefer sending text messages or making a phone call to coming to him/her directly. In other words, they are reluctant to walk.

The question now is, what can we do to avoid this sedentary lifestyle?  According to Sport medicine specialist, dr Michael Triangto, as quoted by Intisari Magazine, there are three simple things we can do. First, if you bring a car, park your car a little bit farther that your destination. Or if you take public transportation, stop farther from your destination. By doing that, you force yourself to walk, which is a healthy habit. Second, during the working hour, you can do some stretching, like doing the push up, moving your hand and leg, and walking. And third, have lunch outside your room, or even outside your office.  Again, this will make you walk.

Since we were in college, or even before that, we have spent so much time, money, and effort to develop ourselves, build a successful career, and earn high income. But all the hard work will mean nothing if diseases come to us due to our unhealthy lifestyles. Sedentary is one of them. So, don’t sit too long. Let’s get up and move. Too much sitting will kill you.

Delivered at BOA Toastmasters Club Regular Meeting, October 18, 2016