The National Health Security Agency publishes the results of a study on the lack of physical activity and sedentary lifestyle and indicates that the French suffer from too much sedentary lifestyle.
The French, too sedentary? This is the main result of a study conducted by the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses). According to experts, 95% of French people are in “insufficient physical activity”.
ANSES even estimates that 38% of adults are in a “sedentary” position sitting or lying passively for more than eight hours a day. For the least active French people, this increases the risk of mortality by 40%.
According to experts, there are three thresholds of physical activity to avoid the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle:
- Threshold 1: 30 minutes of cardiorespiratory work at least 5 days a week;
- Threshold 2: “Muscular work in resistance” (strength exercises) 1 to 2 times a week;
- Threshold 3: Relaxation 2 to 3 times a week.
38% of French people “sedentary”
Nearly 68% of adults are below the first threshold, 37% below threshold 2 and 70% below threshold 3, according to ANSES data. And 70% of women do not reach any threshold.
Moreover, the higher the level of education, the lower the daily duration of cardiorespiratory stress and the weight training exercises associated with domestic activities. This lack of physical activity is greater among city dwellers, particularly in the Île-de-France region.
Work is often the cause of sedentary lifestyle
The level of exposure to a sedentary lifestyle is 7 hours on average per day among the French. The danger threshold is identified at 8 hours, knowing that 38% of adults are above these 8 hours. Among the factors increasing sedentary lifestyle: prolonged presence in front of the television. 16% of adults spend more than five hours a day in front of the television screen.
Experts point out that sedentary time is often the result of a professional activity, but can also be explained by leisure.
These data are particularly worrying given the risks associated with a lack of physical activity. ANSES mentions an increase in mortality, whatever the cause: cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart disease or diabetes.
The study thus estimates that the 27% of the least active adults have a risk of mortality, all causes combined, increased by 40% compared to the rest of the population. As for the 16% of French people who spend more than 5 hours a day in front of the television, they present a risk of death from cardiovascular origin increased by 45%.