Risk Factors
Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour
Any body movement generated by the contraction of skeletal muscles that raises energy expenditure above resting metabolic rate. Physical activity is characterized by its modality, frequency, intensity, duration, and context.
Examples: Physical activity includes both planned and unplanned or unstructured activities, including:
-recreational or leisure-time physical activity
– transportation (such as walking or cycling)
-occupational (such as physical activity that you do at work)
– household chores
– games, play, sports, and planned exercise
Physical inactivity is defined as not reaching recommended guidelines for physical activity. These differ depending on your age and overall health. For an adult aged between 18 and 54 the recommendations are: at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. Therefore, anyone who does not meet these criteria is defined as physically inactive
Exercise refers to the type of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive. Exercise aims to maintain, develop, or increase physical fitness.
Any behaviour that uses less than 1.5 METs while you are sitting, reclining, or lying down. MET stands for the “metabolic equivalent of task” and describes how much energy you use for an activity. 1 MET is the energy you use when you are resting, lying, or sitting still. Sleeping is not counted as a sedentary behaviour. Sedentary behaviours refer only to activity that occurs when you are awake.
Examples of sedentary behaviours include: sitting, screen time (watching TV, using the computer, playing video games), driving, reading.
- About one third of men (34%) and almost half of women (42%) of women are not active enough for good health
- Most people tend to get less active as they get older
Physical inactivity is a risk factor for several diseases
The health risks of sedentary behaviour
Sedentary behaviour is also associated with negative health outcomes, independently of physical activity levels. In other words, even if you do some form of physical activity, if you have long periods of sedentary behaviour, you still have an increased risk of developing some diseases.
Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic
Social distancing, lockdowns, and quarantines all affect how active we are. People are moving around less in everyday life, and it may be more difficult to exercise due to public health restrictions. Gyms, sports clubs, and swimming pools may be closed or have limited services. Therefore, it is important to find alternative ways to keep active.
- When possible, take a brisk walk, jog, or run outside.
- Search online for free exercise videos that you can do at home
- Join a gym that has online lessons
- Buy a fitness watch or pedometer to keep track of the number of steps you take each day
Please note that physical activity recommendations differ for pregnant women, toddlers, children and young people, and disabled adults. Please contact your healthcare provider for advice on phsyical activity if you fall into one of these groups.
