MillenniumPost
Editorial

Price of the 'good' life

Manual labour has become a thing of the past for most of us. This indicates better living, lesser wear and tear of the body and sometimes the mind, better use of our cerebral senses and diminishing psychological pressure of targets and deadlines. Nevertheless, the fatigue continues as there is constant pressure to excel and work harder to achieve the best of what life has to offer. In all this, what we tend to forget is the fact that the body goes through a deluge of ups and downs, owing to our sedentary lifestyle and lack of proper relaxation. A recent survey shows how visits to doctor clinics increased to 3.2 times a year in 2018, highlighting a rise in lifestyle ailments in India by almost 2.7 times compared to the previous year. Correspondingly, the sale of medicines has increased too. The first-ever mapping indicates most visits were to gynaecologists, dermatologists and paediatricians. This states that women and children's issues demand more attention along with skin problems. The study also shows four out of 10 medicines ordered were to treat Vitamin D and calcium deficiencies, while two were for diabetes. Another research points out that sedentary lifestyle may be a risk factor for early mortality as well. For those who get the least amount of physical exercise, replacing half an hour of sitting time with physical activity was associated with up to nearly 50 per cent reduction in the mortality rate. The study suggested that replacing the modest amount of sitting time with even light physical activity may have the potential to reduce the risk of premature deaths among less active adults. Yet another analysis revealed that prolonged sedentary time significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes, regardless of physical exercise. The health risk associated with prolonged sitting is not cancelled out by exercise. Further, the longer one sits, the higher the risk of chronic diseases. In some countries, employers are trying to come up with innovative and useful wellness strategies for their employees who form the core machinery of their organisations. Thus, the irony lies in the fact that we all work for better living but in the process, we cause much harm to our own body. People do travel to places in order to rejuvenate and keep their body and mind calm, relaxed and fresh but they tend to lead a sedentary lifestyle for days and months relentlessly, inflicting self-sabotage on something which they so dearly want to protect.

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