An occupational safety expert underscored that sitting is now the new smoking because of the extreme danger caused by prolonged sitting similar to the health hazards posed by smoking.
Dr. Rona Palaganas Bautista, chapter president of the Philippine College of Occupational Medicine – Baguio-Benguet chapter, said that the hazards of prolonged sitting is evident among office workers who practice sedentary lifestyle where they are predicted to contract life-threatening problems like obesity, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, heart disease, metabolic syndromes, falls, stroke, type 2 diabetes, muscle and joint pains, high blood pressure, cancer, anxiety and depression.
Bautista was one of the resource persons during the recently concluded Tongtongan di Pansigedan TOP Talks Webinar Series 1 spearheaded by the Cordillera Administration Media Educators on Nutrition (CAR-MENU) and the Cordillera office of the National Nutrition Council (NNC-CAR).
She claimed that one of those considered to be part of a sedentary lifestyle is the prolonged or many hours of sitting which is now considered to be hazardous to the health of individuals.
According to her, sitting all day would lead to the weakening of the legs and gluteal muscles, varicose veins, overweight, weakening of the hips and back, and poor posture as well as back pains, neck pains among others.
She explained that despite sitting all day because of work, individuals must still do exercises that could be done intermittently while doing their work to help in preventing the risks of prolonged sitting in the office.
Among the recommended exercises that should be done by those exposed to sitting all day include neck stretch, arm stretch, lunge, hip dip, leg stretching and others that are feasible while individuals are doing their work.
Further, she recommended that in an hour, individuals must allocate at least 2 to 5 minutes of simple exercises to prevent them from contracting the aforesaid illnesses that will pose a serious threat to their lives in the future.
Bautista pointed out there is no compelling reason why individuals cannot do simple exercises because of their work because there are many available sitting exercises that they can do to be able to ensure good health and avoid the possible risks that will pose a serious threat to their health condition caused by sedentary lifestyle.
The occupational safety expert explained that the benefits of exercise are the improvement of mood, weight loss, strong muscles and bones, increase energy levels, reduce risk of diseases, improves skin health, improves brain health and memory, relaxation and improves sleep, help one’s mental health, better sex life, reduce pain and longer life.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the duration for physical activity where adults must undergo at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week or the equivalent vigorous activity and children – 60 minutes of aerobic physical activity per day.
