September 29, 2017.
According to a study conducted by the French public health agency, more and more French people are giving up sport. However, the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle are numerous.
Screens have replaced sport
It seems that we are spending too much time in front of the screens and it will have an impact on our health. In any case, this is what the Public Health France agency is saying in a study. According to these studies, since 2006, the time spent in front of screens among adults has increased by 53% (+ 44% for men and + 66% for women). Slumped in a couch for hours, we thus take the risk of developing certain diseases, such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.
Professor Benoît Salanave, who participated in the study, specifies that time wasted in front of screens fell, on average, from three hours and ten minutes per day to five hours and seven minutes, in 10 years. Now, 80% of adults spend three hours or more in front of their screens, outside of their professional activity. In children, too, the time spent in front of screens has significantly increased in 10 years, regardless of age.
WHO recommendations
We could say that the time spent in front of the screens has no impact on our physical activity. But nothing is less true. According to the study by Public Health France, only 53% of women comply with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for physical activity, compared to 70% of men. WHO recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity endurance activity, or at least 75 minutes of sustained-intensity endurance activity, per week.
To combat these bad habits, the agency recommends using the stairs rather than the elevator, take the time to garden, tinker or do housework, to get up and move every two hours when working seated, to get around as much as possible on foot or by bike, or to encourage children to be active. What if you decided to play with your children? They will be happy and it will allow you to move!
Marine Rondot
To find out more: The benefits of physical activity
