By now, you've likely heard the saying that spending too much time sitting can have the same adverse effects as smoking.
But fresh data has emerged, and medical professionals are issuing warnings that this seemingly innocent behaviour, whether by long work days or marathon gaming sessions, is quietly inflicting serious damage on our bodies.
Shocking simulations already reveal exactly how smoking destroys your lungs and why we should stub out our cigarettes.
One scientific study worryingly showed that a single cigarette can trim roughly 20 minutes off your life, so it's no wonder that health experts are so adamant about getting people to quit.
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But if sitting is just as risky as smoking, shouldn't we be taking our couch potato habits a lot more seriously?
“Sitting has become the new smoking,” said Dr. Anil Kumar Verma, senior consultant cardiologist. “The damage it causes is slow, silent and often ignored until it’s too late.”
Doctors warn that prolonged sitting is linked to health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even premature death.
“When you sit continuously for hours, your metabolism slows down drastically. Blood circulation reduces, fat-burning enzymes shut off, and insulin resistance begins to rise,” Dr. Verma added. “Over time, this significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.”
Backing up his point, several international studies suggest that people who sit for more than eight hours a day face mortality risks similar to those of chronic smokers, even if they exercise regularly.
Moreover, many mistakenly believe that hitting the gym daily cancels out the harm from sitting which has been found to be untrue.
“Physical activity is essential, but it does not act like an antidote,” Dr. Verma explained. “If you exercise in the morning and then remain seated for the next nine hours, the body still suffers the metabolic consequences of inactivity.”
The expert warned: “One hour at the gym cannot undo ten hours on a chair."
During prolonged sitting, the major muscle groups in your legs and back remain dormant, hindering glucose absorption and elevating blood sugar. Both are major contributors to developing Type 2 diabetes.
Doctors have coined the term 'sitting diseases' which encompasses a range of lifestyle-related problems fromextended sitting, including obesity, chronic back pain, poor posture, and heart conditions.
The problem is society's work culture normalises lengthy commutes, all-day remote work setups, and desk jobs that keep us stationary for hours on end.
“I see patients in their 30s with blood pressure and cholesterol levels we earlier saw in people over 50,” Dr. Verma described. “A major contributor is uninterrupted sitting, at work, in cars, and at home in front of screens.”
The good news, though, is that you don't have to adopt an extreme exercise-driven lifestyle to reap the benefits, Dr Verma noted.
“You don’t need a gym or fancy equipment,” he suggested. “Stand up every 30 minutes, walk while taking phone calls, use stairs, stretch at your desk. These micro-movements can significantly reduce health risks.”
Maybe it's best not to excuse that lunchtime walk after all!