How Does Leading A Sedentary Lifestyle Affect Your Heart Health?

A sedentary lifestyle is associated with little to no physical activity and prolonged sitting or lying down [1]. More than 50% of people in India live a sedentary life or a life of physical inactivity [2, 3]. 

According to the WHO, a sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world [4]. It is also among the major risks for heart diseases [5, 6]. Read on to know the ways to overcome a sedentary life, and how to protect your health with sedentary lifestyle plans.

What Are the Health Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle?

When you live a sedentary lifestyle, your body burns fewer calories which may result in weight gain. You may also lose strength in your bones and muscles and become weak. It can also affect your metabolism as your body may find it difficult to break down fats and sugars. An inactive lifestyle may also cause hormonal imbalance, poor blood circulation, a weak immune system, and increased inflammation. 

Here are some chronic diseases that a sedentary lifestyle may put you at risk of.

• Obesity
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Lipid disorders
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Metabolic syndrome
• Osteoporosis and falls
• Anxiety and depression
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Colon, breast, and uterine cancers

How Does a Sedentary Life Affect Your Heart Health?

A sedentary lifestyle may slow down your blood circulation. This allows the buildup of fatty acids in your blood vessels which can lead to heart diseases. It can also reduce the ability of your body to process fats. 

Physical inactivity lowers the production of lipoprotein, an enzyme that breaks down fat in the blood. The inability to use fat leads to storing of fat in your body which can affect your heart health. A sedentary lifestyle also increases insulin resistance. This can cause obesity and type 2 diabetes. These conditions further shoot up the risk of heart disease.

How to Overcome?

Here are simple steps you can take to live an active life:

• Do housework or gardening at a vigorous pace
• Move while you watch television! 
• Perform yoga stretches, go cycling or swim 
• Follow a fitness plan or sedentary lifestyle workout plan at home
• Take a daily walk in your neighborhood
• Stand up and walk while talking on the phone
• Invest in exercise equipment for your home
• Get up from your chair often while working to stretch 
• Work on a stand-up or treadmill desk
• Take stairs, not elevators
• Take frequent breaks to walk, move or stretch
• Walk to nearby markets instead of taking public or private transport
• Sit straight and watch your posture

How to Get Medical Cover for Sedentary Lifestyle Diseases?

Apart from following on a fitness plan, you should get a personal protect cover to guard yourself against lifestyle diseases. Since you also need to track your fitness, having a medical cover is a must. Such sedentary lifestyle plans offer preventive care benefits. 

You can choose from various Personal Protect Plans under the Aarogya Care umbrella from Bajaj Finserv Health. With these balanced illness and wellness plans, you can get chronic, critical care and self-care benefits. They offer 100% cashback reimbursements, cashless benefits, and coverage a range of diseases and conditions.

Avail a Sedentary Lifestyle Care Plan at just Rs. 2,399 per year and get benefits such as:

• Lab and radiology tests worth up to Rs.3,000
• Reimbursement worth up to Rs.700 on consultations with general physician and orthopedic doctors and Rs.1,000 for physiotherapists
• Exclusive discounts at network hospitals and labs including a 10% discount on doctor consultations, lab tests, preventive health check-ups, dental procedures, spectacles, and pharmacy expenses and 5% discount on IPD room rent
• Free ambulance service

To beat the issues caused by a sedentary lifestyle, take out time for your health. Opt for an Aarogya Care health insurance plan to make it easier on yourself to take preventive measures and boost your health.