Hyderabad doctor offers crucial tips for desk job employees to combat sedentary lifestyle

Dr. Sudhir Kumar, MD DM, a neurologist from Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad, known for his health advisories on social media, has offered seven essential suggestions to help desk job employees lead a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

Hyderabad: Desk-based work environments often result in prolonged periods of sitting, which has raised significant health concerns due to their negative impact on physical and mental well-being.

Dr. Sudhir Kumar, MD DM, a neurologist from Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad, known for his health advisories on social media, has offered seven essential suggestions to help desk job employees lead a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

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Shared on X, Dr. Kumar’s tips include taking standing or walking breaks for 2-3 minutes every 30-40 minutes and considering the use of standing work desks. He advises standing during coffee breaks instead of sitting and walking to a colleague’s desk for discussions rather than calling or messaging. Additionally, he suggests encouraging all participants to stand during meetings and serving only coffee without snacks. To further reduce the health risks associated with prolonged sitting, Dr. Kumar recommends minimizing leisure time sitting, such as watching TV after office hours, and converting one hour of sitting time per day into physical activity like walking.

“Sedentary time of more than 6 hours per day is associated with an increased incidence of several non-communicable diseases, many of which are serious and disabling,” Dr. Kumar noted. These diseases include migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic liver disease, diabetes, depression, chronic kidney disease, asthma, thyroid disorders, gout, diverticular disease, and ischemic heart disease.

Limiting daily sitting time to less than six hours can reduce the occurrence of migraines by 22 per cent. Moreover, Kumar asserted that replacing even one hour of sedentary time with physical activity can significantly lower the risk of many diseases.