Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, has warned that sitting for long hours without movement is dangerous to our health and can be just as harmful as smoking. In a message shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, the Minister said that this behavior, known as sedentary lifestyle, is becoming a silent threat to human health.
Dr. Nsanzimana explained that sitting for too long increases the risk of getting serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. He shared that sitting for many hours every day can raise the chances of heart disease by 35 %, increase the risk of stroke by 14 %, and even double the risk of getting type 2 diabetes. The Minister also warned that people who sit for a long time without moving may face a 40 % higher chance of dying early.
He encouraged people to stand up and move regularly during the day. “Every 60 minutes you sit, stand up!” he said. “Sitting for six hours a day increases health risks, even if you exercise afterward.” This means that doing exercise once in a while is not enough if you spend most of your day sitting down.
The Hidden Health Risk of Our Time
With the rise of modern technology, many people now work in one place for long hours without moving. Many people do their everyday work where they are without making any movement for a long period of time this is what we call sedentary bahavior meaning sitting for too long.
Researchers found that sitting too long can negatively affect our health by increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure, and musculoskeletal problems such as back and neck pain.
Today, some health experts compare the dangers of sitting for too long to those of smoking, because both can lead to serious health problems.
Sitting for too long can contribute to insulin resistance and increase the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. Sedentary behavior can also lead to the increase of lung cancer and also colon cancer.Despite the above sitting for too long also impacts our mental health negatively through anxiety and depression because the brain’s happy hormone called dopamine is released when one is active and exercing that is why when one sits for a long while it becomes hard for the brain to release this hormone.
Doctors and Scientists advice people to at least stand in every 30-60 minutes and also engage in doing activities that involve more movement like gardening, dancing and also taking a walk instead of using cars and bikes everyday. By doing this people will be taking care of their own health by making the right decision to avoid sedentary behavior