International institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Sedentary Behavior Research Network are very clear: sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity are mainly responsible for the alarming increase of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, low back pain, anxiety, depression and functional disability among adults in the last thirty years.
Sedentary lifestyle + physical inactivity: a dangerous cocktail
But we should not confuse a sedentary lifestyle with physical inactivity. The first term refers to those activities performed in a sitting or supported posture. They involve little energy expenditure most of the day and affect many professions, such as drivers, administrators, supermarket cashiers, etc.
On the other hand, a person is considered inactive when they do not meet the minimum of moderate or vigorous physical activity recommended by the WHO or the ACSM. To avoid being labeled as inactive, an adult must do at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity (walking quickly, cycling, dancing or practicing Zumba or full body) or 75 minutes of vigorous physical exercise weekly (Indoor cycle either spinningcrossFit, swimming or soccer).
According to the WHO, no less than 60% of the world’s population does not reach these minimums. In Spain, for example, the Ministry of Health reports that 36% of the Spanish adult population does not comply with these recommendations. This percentage is higher in women (41.9%) than in men (33.5%).
If a person is inactive and also performs sedentary work, he or she is likely to suffer from obesity, various diseases, and functional disabilities.
An example: the #REFILAB project
So, if we carry out a sedentary occupation, what can we do?
In some companies, workers are lucky enough to have a medical service that, aware of this situation, hires professionals in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences.
An example of this is #REFILAB, a novel training project applied in the workplace for the prevention and physical rehabilitation of the staff of an urban services company in Murcia that includes the figure of the personal trainer. One of its objectives is to change the sedentary behavior of managers, foremen, receptionists, administrators, drivers or access controllers through snacks or active “snacks”, that is, small physical activity interventions.
In this project, the occupational doctor prescribes physical activity to workers, among other clinical measures, and refers them to the Physical Activity and Sports Sciences professional to begin the training process. After informing the employee’s manager, he or she continues the training snacks 4×4 from #REFILAB.
Each day, the worker has four “snacks”, lasting two to five minutes, during his work day. On Monday train flexibility; on Tuesday, neuromotor; on Wednesday, strength; and on Thursday, cardiorespiratory endurance, always following the recommendations of the ACSM. As motivation, the personal trainer proposes quantitative objectives to try to meet the recommended training volume and intensity.
In the following images we can see how the workers carry out some snacks of flexibility, neuromotor, strength and cardiorespiratory endurance during their work day.
Active also outside of work
When a worker habitually performs the snacks active (that is, there is adherence), it is not strange that they want to do physical exercise in their free time. In this case, the personal trainer explains to the worker the model of the continuum of physical activity, or in other words, how to progress safely and effectively from inactivity to practicing physical exercise or sports.
In short, #REFILAB can be an example of good practices to improve physical condition and health in those workers who have a sedentary job such as office jobs, receptionists, toll officials, supermarket cashiers, teachers, surgeons, dentists, drivers, etc.
And for your safety, do not forget that before starting any physical activity you must have an interview with your doctor and personal trainer to analyze and control your health and level of physical fitness.
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Antonio Cejudo, Assistant Professor Doctor, University of Murcia
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original.