There’s an important distinction between sedentary lifestyles and physical inactivity. A sedentary lifestyle is when you sit or remain still for many hours throughout the day. Activities such as using a computer, playing video games, watching television, working from a desk, and sitting during travel all count as sedentary behaviour. If you accumulate more than 6-8 hours a day being sedentary, risk for the above chronic illnesses rise significantly, especially when combined with inactivity.
Physical inactivity, on the other hand, is insufficient amount of exercise. The minimum amount of exercise to counteract risk of chronic illness is 150 minutes of cardio and 2 muscle-training workouts per week. You may need to do more if you spend large parts of the day sedentary for your occupation or travel.
I.e., sedentary = too much sitting. Inactive = not enough exercise.
Combined, sedentary and inactive lifestyles are linked with dozens of chronic illnesses ranging across multiple bodily functions. Here are a few:
- Cardiovascular: High blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and heart attack
- Metabolic: Obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Musculoskeletal: Low back pain, neck pain, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis.
- Neurological: Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and faster cognitive decline.
- Cognitive: Anxiety, depression, stress, and low self-esteem.
- Cancer: Several types including breast, colon, and endometrial.
- All-Cause Mortality: Risk of death increases 16% overall and 34% from cardiovascular disease specifically.1
Many chronic illnesses overlap between physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour, however, there are differences as well. Prolonged sitting skews more towards deep vein thrombosis (blood pools in the legs), postural and spinal degradation, colon and endometrial cancers, and post-meal blood glucose spikes. Extended sedentary time generally suppresses metabolism, decreases circulation, impairs glucose uptake, and increases low-grade inflammation throughout your body.
Physical activity skews more towards osteoporosis (fragile bones), sarcopenia (age-related muscle atrophy), and reduced stamina. You essentially miss out on the benefits of exercise improving your physical and cognitive well-being.
According to these definitions, you could be physically active and sedentary simultaneously. You could work out for an hour each morning then sit at a desk for 10 hours, hence checking you off under both categories. Active but sedentary.
Conversely, you could be physically inactive, not getting your workouts in, though non-sedentary via active habits of moving around regularly. They both carry their own independent risk factors. Inactive but not sedentary.
If you were to pick only one, prioritizing physical activity will grant you greater health benefits than breaking up sedentary time. If your occupation demands long hours of being sedentary, then more physical activity is required to offset sedentary time (60-75 minutes of exercise/day to make up for 8+ hour of sitting).2 Though the ideal lifestyle is one where you check off both boxes. You’re physically active and properly segment sedentary time with movement in between.
To segment sedentary behaviour, stand, stretch, or walk for 2-5 minutes for every 30-60 minutes of sedentary time. Essentially just move around. Doing so will keep your body systems active and prevent degradation.
References:
- Gao, W., Sanna, M., Chen, Y.-H., Tsai, M.-K., & Wen, C.-P. (2024). Occupational Sitting Time, Leisure Physical Activity, and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality. JAMA Network Open, 7(1), e2350680. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50680
- Ekelund, U., Steene-Johannessen, J., Brown, W. J., Fagerland, M. W., Owen, N., Powell, K. E., Bauman, A., & Lee, I.-M. (2016). Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women. The Lancet, 388(10051), 1302–1310. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30370-1
- Clinic, C. (2025). What a Sedentary Lifestyle Can Do to Your Health. In Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sedentary-lifestyle
- Magnon, V., Dutheil, F., & Auxiette, C. (2018). Sedentariness: A Need for a Definition. Frontiers in Public Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00372
- Park, J. H., Moon, J. H., Kim, H. J., Kong, M. H., & Oh, Y. H. (2020). Sedentary lifestyle: Overview of updated evidence of potential health risks. Korean Journal of Family Medicine, 41(6), 365–373. https://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.20.0165