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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
In the car, on public transport, at the office: many of us spend a lot of time sitting during the day. However, human beings are not made to be sedentary and this lack of movement ends up harming us. How to move more? Advice from Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo.
It is a call launched by an addictologist who calls out. In a Dutch daily, Robert Van de Graaf, invites the general public not to give up tobacco, alcohol or drugs, as one might imagine from an addictologist… No, the specialist recommends avoiding at least maximum sitting, throughout the day. “Stand, crouch, or sit on the floor, but please leave your comfortable seats behind.” he indicates.
Sedentary lifestyle or “chair use disorder”
When you think about it, this doctor is not wrong. Between public transport, the car, meals, working time for some and even in the evening, in front of the TV: we spend a lot (too much) time inactive, without practicing any physical activity.
“We talk about chair disease, but we could also say the sofa, the armchair or the bed” agrees Dr. Gérald Kierzek, rightly recalling that a sedentary lifestyle kills more than tobacco (which causes 75,000 deaths per year).”A sedentary lifestyle has consequences on all our organs: on our cardiovascular system, on our joints… It also increases the risk of cancer.”.
Robert Van de Graaf even speaks of “chair use disorder” in a scientific journal, estimating that human beings have become addicted to this sitting position, as they could be to tobacco or alcohol.
According to the addictologist, human beings are not made to voluntarily sit for long hours. It’s actually a rather recent illness. As previous generations carried out more physical jobs, the question of a sedentary lifestyle did not even arise.
To try to remain as less sedentary as possible, the first step is to become aware of this first of all. The second is to start moving, precisely. “I’m not talking about doing sports but physical activity: this can be walking, going up the stairs, taking a break to get up and do a few movements, gardening… So many activities that allow you not to stay on your chair or at the bottom of his sofa” explains Gérald Kierzek. And for people who are sedentary at work, it is always possible to adapt their workstation to work standing, squatting or on a ball chair.
Slide: 10 tips for getting back into sport before the holidays