The Effects of Being Inactive

In today's busy and modern world, sedentary and inactive lifestyles are becoming more and more common. Many people lead sedentary daily lives that involve sitting behind a desk for eight hours of the day, driving to and from work and plopping down on the couch at night to watch television. All of this sitting doesn't leave too much time for physical activity, breaking a sweat and getting into shape. Learn some of the negative effects that are often associated with inactivity.

Obesity

• Individuals who lead inactive lifestyles are at much higher risk of becoming obese. This is due to the fact that sedentary routines lead to the storage and accumulation of a high amount of extra calories. Regular physical activity can burn the calories, but without any of that, all it does is lead to the build-up of fat.

Health Conditions

• Inactivity can elevate the risk of a high number of serious health conditions, many of which arise initially due to obesity. People with sedentary lifestyles often develop conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, heart disease, cancers (particularly of the breasts and colon), type II diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. These conditions can also contribute to the early deaths of many of its sufferers.

Mood

• When a person gets physical exercise, it raises the levels of the endorphin serotonin, which can increase and improve the mood naturally. Since people with sedentary lifestyles do not get any regular physical activity, they may be more prone to mood-related problems such as depression, social anxiety disorder and insomnia.

Aging

• Inactivity can also quickly speed the aging process up in some people. One of the reasons for this is that physical activity can be very beneficial with regards to psychological stress. Physical activity can decrease oxidative stress, which triggers cell damage from oxygen exposure.

Financial Issues

• Inactivity can also lead to financial problems. These problems are indirectly associated with the health problems that obesity and illness can bring. If an active person takes a lot of time off of work to handle health problems, it can bring upon reduced productivity, more expensive costs for benefits, frequent absences and dissatisfaction from the employer.