Moving every two hours is essential for good health

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Extract from the article: Adults in Togo spend an average of hours a day in sedentary activities. And a large proportion of them reach a "high" level. Be physically active, but also don't sit for too long.

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Adults in Togo spend an average of hours a day in sedentary activities. And a large proportion of them reach a "high" level. Be physically active, but also don't sit for too long.

 

"Sitting for too long is not good for your health. At work, if you can, think of walking a little every two hours", says Dr Damien Ekoué-Kouvahey, Sports Doctor. A sedentary lifestyle, coupled with a lack of activity, is considered to be the fourth leading risk factor for death worldwide. Practise at least thirty minutes of "dynamic" physical activity per day, but also limit as much as possible the time spent in a sitting position.

Lack of activity and a sedentary lifestyle are not the same thing. You can do five hours of sport a week and still be sedentary. Indeed, for Dr Damien Ekoué-Kouvahey, "sedentary lifestyle is now defined as staying too long in a sitting or lying position, without sleeping". "A high level of sedentary behaviour is defined as sitting for more than seven hours a day. Sedentary is also defined as spending more than three hours a day in front of a screen, outside of work," he added.

 

Togolese are too sedentary

It is from this threshold of seven hours a day that health risks appear. And this threshold is reached very quickly. "Take the case of a person who drives an hour to and from work. They sit for eight hours at the office and in the evening they spend two hours at home watching TV. That's twelve hours of sitting," says the specialist.

 

Getting up every two hours

A sedentary lifestyle can lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers. In a seated position, the muscles do not contract. Yet it is muscle activity that is the main consumer of glucose and lipids. "When we sit, glucose and fat will accumulate in the vessels or around the liver and pancreas. In addition, when we are sedentary, we tend to eat more fat, salt and sugar. A sedentary lifestyle encourages snacking, partly because of a physiological phenomenon,’’ explains the specialist. When you work sitting in front of a computer, you have a lot of cognitive activity. As a result, the brain will consume large amounts of glucose. And by a compensatory phenomenon, the body will need to renew its sugar stocks. This is perhaps what happens when children watch cartoons while sitting for hours.

But how can we combat this sedentary lifestyle when we work while sitting down?  By trying to get up and move at least every two hours. There are a few tricks to this. "For example, in my office, the rubbish bin is at the other end of the room. So I have to get up every time I want to throw something away. And when I have to talk to a colleague, rather than sending him an email or phoning him, I go to his office," says Mr Edouard, 33, an office worker in a mobile phone company in Lomé. Moving for just two minutes every hour already has a beneficial effect on blood pressure.

 

 

Abel Ozih