Insufficient physical activity or physical inactivity, as it is called in medicine, ranks fourth among the causes of death, second only to hypertension, smoking and high blood glucose. According to the WHO, 3.2 million people die from lack of physical activity every year. Basically we are talking about the population of industrialized countries. As scientists have calculated, over the past 100 years, people have started to move 96% less. If this continues, humanity will stop moving altogether, which means it will die out.

Movement is life, they said in ancient times and they were right. Inactive people are 20-30% more likely to die suddenly than their more active peers, who walk for at least 30 minutes every day.

Causes and risk factors.

Physical inactivity can be caused by objective reasons, for example, disability, severe and prolonged illness. But in most cases, it is associated with improper lifestyle organization or sedentary work. The main risk factors for the development of hypodynamia include: insufficient physical activity; overweight; nervous diseases; mental disorders; somatic diseases; family lifestyle; dependence on bad habits.

Symptoms of hypodynamia.

Symptoms of hypodynamia appear gradually. These include increasing fatigue, rapid fatigue, decreased performance, sleep disturbances, increased unreasonable nervousness, regular headaches of varying intensity, increased risk of fractures, weight gain, shortness of breath with little physical exertion, back pain. Due to insufficient physical activity, strength indicators decrease, muscle volume and mass are reduced, neuro-reflex connections are disrupted, which can lead to the development of vegetative-vascular dystonia, depressive conditions.

Physical inactivity leads to the development of non-communicable chronic diseases such as colon and breast cancer, type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension and osteoporosis, and other diseases.

The above pathological conditions lead to a decrease in the quality and duration of life.

WHO experts without exaggeration call lack of physical activity - a new epidemic that threatens the future of humanity, and in every possible way urge people to physical activity.

• • How much to move?

Here, as never before, the principle “little is better than nothing” is relevant. A minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week is recommended. It's best to combine both, and you don't have to do everything at the same time. You can divide your activity into short intervals of no more than 10 minutes.

Examples of moderate activity include walking, yoga, and mowing the lawn.

Examples of vigorous activity include running or jogging, brisk cycling, and swimming.

• • Where to begin?

If you have never exercised and are sedentary, start small by constantly increasing your activity level.

Sit less. Sitting too long also increases the risk of obesity, which leads to cancer and other chronic diseases. Try to get up and move for at least one to two minutes every hour when you are at work and at home when you are awake.

Start with 5-10 minutes. walking 5 days a week gradually increasing the pace and duration. After improving physical fitness, you can bring up to 150 minutes per week.

• • Healthy benefits.

Numerous studies show that exercise actually helps the body reduce the risk of many types of diseases. Regardless of fitness level, regular exercise that combines aerobic and strength training, as well as flexibility and balance exercises, has a positive effect on mental and physical health, reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer, bladder cancer, colorectal cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer, uterine cancer and other diseases.

It's never too late to start moving. Move more and be healthy!