What is sedentary? Sedentary is, as described by Webster, characterized by or requiring much sitting. So what does being sedentary have to do with health? Sedentary lifestyles are leading to higher incidences of obesity among children and adults. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2008, only one state, Colorado, had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent and 32 states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25 percent. With obesity on the rise, health care risks and costs are increasing. Obesity is linked to our nation’s No. 1 killer-heart disease-as well as diabetes, hypertension, acid reflux, osteoarthritis and many more diseases. It is also a psychological stressor, especially for children who may be teased and ridiculed at school or home for their size.
How is a sedentary lifestyle linked with being overweight or obese? When being sedentary we are basically being lazy, inactive, and building a strong bond between the bum and the couch cushion. If we do this and still eat the same amount or more of food, then we are not burning off anything we eat. What we eat is known as caloric intake, or the calories supplied by food. To stay healthy we need to have an equal caloric expenditure, which are the calories lost through physical activity. With sedentary lifestyles we are tipping the scale too far to the caloric intake. As a result, we then start gaining weight. So what can we do to change this?
Let’s not sit around, let’s be active! We can even use some of those sedentary lifestyle traits and use them for the better. For example, if you are insistent on watching T.V., watch a healthy cooking channel or pop in an exercise video and get moving. Use the Internet for the good. Stop watching YouTube and explore helpful sites like mypyramid.gov, americaonthemove.org, diet.com, shape.com, and many more. You’ll find diet and exercise tips, track your fitness level and goals, learn to cook and eat healthier, all of which are just some of the things you can do on these sites. Get involved in the community and join the gym, or perhaps a dance class, a walking/jogging group, a swim team, or anything to get you moving. Get a friend or family member to go, and use each other as motivation. Sign up your children or yourself for a fitness class at school. Sac State offers a variety of health and fitness classes open to the student body as well as intramural sport teams. There are a variety of clubs to join or stop in the Fit HELP office located in the Union next to Round Table and we’ll get you started on a great track! Let’s reverse the sedentary lifestyle and make it a thing of the past. We can start a new trend of a healthy and active lifestyle that will improve our health, happiness, and future.
• http://www.mypyramid.gov
• http://www.americaonthemove.org
• http://wwwdiet.com
• http://www.shape.com
• http://www.csusrecsports.org/
• http://www.csus.edu/hlth/FitHELP.html
