Sitting is a problem. Better said: sitting is a lot of problems. Sedentary lifestyle is the fourth risk factor for death globally and is behind one in four cancers of the breast, uterus or colon. And the thing doesn’t end there.
Its impact is undeniable: it doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, slows down glucose metabolism, and reduces fat synthesis. In addition, with one hand it hinders the burning of calories; while the other causes loss of muscle mass, bone weakness and bone demineralization.
But we have known that for a long time. What is not usually said is that, in addition, sitting changes our personality.
The personality? Indeed. In recent years, researchers have been building a growing body of evidence associating physically inactive lifestyles with small (but measurable) declines in several personality traits over decades.
Since 2018, We know that baseline physical inactivity predicts declines in four of the big five personality traits: responsibility, openness, extraversion and agreeableness. It’s true that the effects are small (and the evidence is observational), but they are surprisingly consistent.
Does exercising protect our personality? It is not clear. As I said, the studies are observational: that means that we know that both variables go hand in hand, but not that one ‘acts’ as a protector of the other.
However, we don’t always need clear causality to see where the problem is.
And the problem sits at the very center of Western society. Spain is a good example: between 27.4% and 36.4% of Spaniards aged 16 and over declared themselves sedentary in their free time according to the INE. And they are right: if the WHO recommendation speaks of between 150 and 300 minutes of physical activity per week, almost half of Spaniards do not reach it.
Sedentary lifestyle is, without a doubt, a silent epidemic that is straining our health system and, if these researchers are right, is changing who we are.
Because, although there is debate about all thisthe idea that an active lifestyle is a protective factor for personality stability throughout life is gaining strength among experts. It is true that we do not know the specific mechanisms, but the psychological plausibility of the matter is beyond any doubt.
It’s time to get going.
Image | Kate Sade
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