The health of a couch potato
@krislouiebaby (2346)
Philippines
March 23, 2007 10:42pm CST
Everyone needs to kick back and relax, but too much bonding time with the couch and TV remote control can cause serious health problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently estimated that between 60 and 85 percent of people worldwide lead sedentary lifestyles (lifestyles with little physical activity or exertion). The WHO also issued a warning that a sedentary lifestyle could be one of the world's ten leading causes of disability and death. Many researchers have described the widespread popularity of a sedentary lifestyle as an epidemic.
The human body functions best when it is active, and couch potato-ness can cause dramatically increased risks of:
colon cancer
breast cancer
skin cancer (a.k.a. melanoma)
heart disease
high blood pressure
stroke
arthritis
type II diabetes
2 responses
@toonatoons (3735)
• Philippines
25 Mar 07
that's true. i'd like to add the following to the health risks you posted:
1) pneumonia
2) chronic back pain
3) obesity
@wayz12 (2059)
• United States
24 Mar 07
This is quite true. We are not meant to be sedentary. Our bodies are designed to walk, run, jump; overall, to stay active. But modern civilization with all its machines and innovations have created a lifestyle that allows us to just sit down and vege. So many of us spent our time either watching TV or in front of a computer. It is high time that we get off our behinds and start moving around. If we want to be healthy, we need to move around and sweat more.
