Covid-19: physical inactivity increases the risk of death

For the past year, between periods of confinement and teleworking, we have spent a lot of time sitting in front of screens and much less time walking. No more trips by public transport to get to work, no more shopping in “non-essential” stores… this forced sedentary lifestyle in times of a pandemic is not without risk, alert researchers at Kaiser Medical Center from Fontana, California. After following nearly 50,000 patients diagnosed with covid-19 between January 1, 2020 and October 21, 2020, doctors found that lack of physical activity increases the risk of suffering from a severe form of the disease and even of dying from it.

As a risk factor for serious illness, a sedentary lifestyle is exceeded only by advanced age and a history of organ transplantation, according to American researchers. Even more worryingly, among the risk factors for dying from covid-19, physical inactivity exceeds smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

How long should you move each day?

To fight against a sedentary lifestyle, and more particularly against the harmful effects of sitting all day, the WHO advises practicing physical activity for 30 to 40 minutes a day. The study which made it possible to establish this recommendation was unveiled by the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

A sedentary lifestyle is not good for the body, it’s not a scoop! But how do you fight when you work in a seated (and static) position all day? Researchers have taken an interest in the question by studying 44,000 people from four different countries and with varying lifestyles. Not everyone did as much physical exercise.

As a reminder, a sedentary lifestyle increases a long list of disorders that endanger health, and in fact, life. Among them, we find cardiovascular problems, obesity, diseases that affect the liver, blood circulation problems or osteoarthritis… So many diseases that can (in part) result from daily sitting for more than 3 hours.

By comparing sedentary and athletic subjects during this study, the researchers arrived at a clear result: the less you move, the more the risk of mortality increases. While it would take little to reduce it… 30 to 40 minutes of physical activity per day would have allowed those most at risk to rise to the level of those who had a more active lifestyle. Conclusion: move!

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