How inactive lifestyle affects your back, neck and spine

With lesser activity, however, fewer calories are burnt, making weight gain more likely.
According to HRI, the human body and internal organs are more efficient when activated. So, humans will gain more weight as they burn fewer calories.

Lacking exercise can increase your chances of chronic diseases like obesity, hypertension, colon cancer, sluggish metabolism, heart diseases, and hormonal imbalance. The body has spent too much time relaxing, excessively consuming food and not moving enough. When the person becomes obese, it will invite other health problems like joint pain, sleeping disorder and stroke.

Based on the World Health Organization (WHO), around 60 to 85 per cent of humans around the globe live a sedentary lifestyle making it a severe public health problem. In Malaysia, that has not garnered enough attention from the media. 

Besides that, the inactive lifestyle will also affect your skeletal structures like bones and spine. There will be a loss of strength and endurance as your muscles will shrink due to the lack of usage. A person may have osteoporosis with a lower bone density and weaker bones. Furthermore, an inactive lifestyle may also lead to problems in your back, especially in the neck area, as it will become stiff and give you neck pain. Being stationary for a prolonged session will make your spine stiff and sore. Even if you are in a relaxed state and a sitting position, you may feel pain as your muscles, spine, and neck are getting pressured.

Having a bad posture, like slouching, is not recommended because it stretches the spinal ligaments too much and pressures the spinal disc by bending it against the chair, reducing the spine’s wear and tear.
Being sedentary does not just affect you physically but your mental well-being too. You may have more emotional swings by feeling irritated, restless and stressed because of the inactivity for an extended period, lack of sleep and busy schedule. Lacking sleep will make you feel moody and may make you forgetful as your mental health decreases.