Sitting isn’t just bad for you. It’s bad for the economy

Share

Here is how the average Canadian adult spends their days:

• 0.4 hours of moderate or vigorous activity like cycling or a brisk walk;
• 3.8 hours of light activity like housework or strolling;
• 9.8 hours being sedentary, sitting in the car or in front of the TV;
• 10 hours sleeping and eating.

In other words, we spend the vast majority of our lives lying down or sitting down; many of us now spend a staggering 23.5 hours a day essentially motionless, a reality that is nicely illustrated in a whiteboard video by Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the health design lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

This sedentary lifestyle, which has become increasingly prevalent with economic shifts (there are twice as many desk jobs as a generation ago), and technological advances (screens, screens, screens) has had a dramatic impact on our health, individually and collectively.

It is no wonder researchers have coined the term "sitting disease," that public health officials now worry about the epidemic of sitting as much as they do about smoking.

A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, impotence and more, and hastens death.

Inactivity now kills more people than smoking – hence the moniker "the new smoking" – and is now the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.

It also has a striking economic impact. One study estimated that inactivity takes a $6.8-billion bite out of the economy annually because of increased health costs and lost productivity – and those numbers date all the way back to 2009.

The seemingly simple solution to this problem is to get more people moving.

Of course, that is easier said than done.

We have engineered activity out of our lives by building suburbs that result in long commutes, with jobs that require long hours in front of a computer, with entertainment that is more cerebral (or at least stationary) than active, and with conveniences like escalators in place of stairs.

The challenge now is to engineer some inconvenience/activity back into our lives.

We don't need to go instantly from couch potato to whirling dervish; even a little bit goes a long way.

That's the underlying message of a new report prepared jointly by the Conference Board of Canada and ParticipACTION that examines the economic and health impacts that would occur if everyone hiked their activity levels and reduced sitting by a modest 10 per cent.

The report notes that, when it comes to activity, Canadians fit into four broad categories:

• Physically active and non-sedentary: People who get at least the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity weekly, and who minimize their time sitting. That’s 21 per cent of the population;
• Physically active and sedentary: They have bouts of physical activity to meet the 150 minutes threshold, but most of the rest of their time sitting; 31 per cent;
• Physically inactive and non-sedentary: People who don’t exercise but do little sitting because they have jobs that keep them on their feet, like nurses; 16 per cent;
• Physically inactive and sedentary: People who are essentially couch potatoes; they sit at work and at home; 32 per cent.

Imagine if people in each of three bottom categories sat a little less and walked a little more – just 10 per cent more.

According to the Conference Board, that would pay significant dividends in the years to come. They measured the impact over the next 25 years, from 2015 to 2040, and adjusting for population increases, found: The incidence of chronic diseases would drop, including 170,000 fewer cases of heart disease, 120,000 fewer diabetes cases and 31,000 fewer cancer cases.

This would, in turn, have an impact on health spending, reducing costs by $45-million 2020 up to $167-million by 2040. These are modest amounts given the size of our health budgets, but nonetheless the potential cumulative savings would be $2.6-billion in today's dollars.

The real impact of having a more active population is on the workforce, because it results in less disability and death.

The report estimates that, by moving a little bit more, there would be 22,000 more people in the workforce by 2040, and 90,000 fewer days of absenteeism.

This would bolster the economy – the Gross Domestic Product, by $230-million in 2020 and $1.6-billion in 2040.

What these numbers tell us is that bolstering activity, and reducing sitting is in everyone's interest: Individuals, employers, health systems and governments more broadly.

If we need a little more inspiration than numbers, then we should thinking of taking a few more steps we're being asked to take daily as steps to a better life, and a stronger economy.

André Picard is The Globe's public health columnist.