A Dynamic Prescription for Health and Longevity

Beating the Silent Enemy--Sedentary Living

70 percent of U.S. adults spend less than half an hour a day engaged in moderate physical activity. Therefore, according to the Centers for Disease Control definition of sedentary living, the majority of Americans are at risk for Sedentary Death Syndrome (SeDS). “Although it may sound like a joke, SeDS is no laughing matter,” states Dr. Vonda Wright, orthopedic surgeon, anti-aging expert, and author of FITNESS AFTER 40, “The ill effects of more than 35 diseases can be directly decreased by 30 minutes of exercise a day.”

Here are a few staggering facts about the toll of sedentary disorder—and motivation to get up and start living an active life:

- Sedentary living is characterized by weak muscles, low bone density, high cholesterol, hyperglycemia, a rapid resting heart rate, and obesity.

- 90 million sedentary Americans suffer from chronic illness. The risk of many conditions associated with sedentary living can be decreased significantly by a daily dose of activity.

- The standard exercise prescription—30 minutes a day—improves the body’s response to insulin and lowers the risk of developing diabetes by 30 to 40 percent. Exercise can also decrease a diabetic’s risk of dying of heart disease by 40 to 50 percent.

- Regular moderate exercise can decrease the risk of colorectal cancer by 40 percent and decrease the risk of dying from prostate cancer by 50 percent.

- For women, exercise effectively lowers levels of two ovarian hormones, estradiol and progesterone, which can decrease the risk of breast cancer by up to 60 percent.

- Men who keep active have been found to have 41 percent less erectile dysfunction than men who sit on the couch.

- Active people are 1.5 times less likely to suffer from depression than the sedentary.

- People who exercise on a nearly daily basis take about half the number of sick days as their sedentary peers.

- When combining the loss of productivity with the medical costs of treating chronic illness, the economic toll of sedentary living on America is about $150 billion annually.

- Sedentary living is strongly linked to dying from stroke, heart attack, and other diseases. Experts estimate that a nationwide commitment to 30 minutes of exercise a day could achieve a 30 percent reduction in our nation’s mortality rate.

Adapted from FITNESS AFTER 40: How to Stay Strong at Any Age by Vonda Wright, M.D., with Ruth Winter, M.S. with a Foreword by Nolan Ryan (AMACOM 2009).