By Thomas B. Gilliam, PhD, IPCS
Right or wrong, we have a new scapegoat when things don’t go right. COVID has been hurtful and painful to many both physically and emotionally. But in some instances, we have to assume responsibility for some of the pain and hurt. In March 2020 only a small portion of office workers worked from home (teleworking) but just 30 days later the number increased exponentially.
This resulted in a new popular form of meetings called “Zoom” meetings. The Zoom software facilitated bringing together many individuals via our phones and computers as if we were all in the same room. Unfortunately, for many, the workday became loaded with these online meetings, one right after the other. If these meetings were held in the workplace, the employee would have
at least had the opportunity to get up from one meeting and walk (move) to another. But Zoom meetings at home meant you sat all day with one meeting after another coming directly to you via your electronic device.
A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health by Jacob Meyer and others in September 2020 called “Changes in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Response to COVID-19 and Their Associations with Mental Health in 3,052 US Adults” shows that Americans reduced their physical activity and increased their screen time on average by 32% and 38%, respectively. Drs. Bryan and Jones recently published a news blog in the American College of Sports Medicine called “Could All Those Zoom Meetings Be Bad for Your Health?”. Drs. Bryan and Jones offer healthy tips when doing Zoom meetings and suggestions on how to reduce the level of physical inactivity caused by this new modality of doing business.
What we know is that the impact of this increased physical inactivity already has caused increases in both physical and mental illnesses. Yes, we can blame COVID for the increase but we did not have to become more sedentary. Even in some states with strict restrictions, exercising and moving about in your home was not one of those restrictions. It may be boring or seem difficult but a certain amount of physical activity during the COVID restrictions was possible at home.
What is this leading to? We already know a portion of the impact the lack of physical activity has had on individuals since March 2020. The impact on our health is alarming. Increases in depressive and anxiety symptoms have been reported as well as increases in body weight, Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease.
Although there is no evidence at this time, intuitively, the lack of physical activity has impacted the overall muscle health of most individuals too. We know that muscle must be worked to stay strong and healthy whereas, in contrast, sedentary behavior weakens and destroys muscle.
The research says a Healthy Muscle Mass leads to:
• Fewer musculoskeletal injuries/faster recovery
• Better productivity/less absenteeism
• Healthier, stronger bones/fewer joint replacements
• Less probability and better management of certain Diseases
The benefits of an enhanced immune system and the possibility of delayed dementia along with a decreased probability of diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and obesity give us all the more reason to stay active and work to build and maintain muscle mass in our bodies.
Unless our society can return to healthier lifestyles, the impact of the increase in physical inactivity and increased screen time will be devastating to our health system, to many more individuals of all ages, and to industry. The good news is that physical activity and weight training can reverse this potential devastation. Remember COVID did not make us more sedentary, we made ourselves more sedentary.
