Image courtesy of oddsock via Flickr
We here at ShrinkGeek walk a fine editorial tightrope when it comes to sermonizing about the “evils” of the sedentary activities we all share a common love for. Let’s face it, folks. The chips are stacked against us in the whole healthy lifestyle realm. You aren’t very likely to see an elevated heart rate for extended period as a result of playing games or watching movies. That being said, we also recognize that it’s perfectly acceptable to indulge in the things that we love if we do so sensibly and take the time to balance out other activities that aren’t quite so…passive.
The main problem with this issue is that it is hard to quantify just how “bad” for you sedentary activities are. We all should be able to recognize that someone who never exercises and spends all their time in front of a computer or television is not likely to be a healthy person, but it’s never been easy to put a finger on how much is “too much” when it comes to these activities. Is two hours of television or computer use a night too much? Three? What if you spend all day in front of a computer for your job? There are a lot of hard questions revolving around these scenarios and no easy answers to be found.