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We Can't Afford Either

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003;157:731-732.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

PHYSICAL INACTIVITY is epidemic. Approximately 70% of US adults and 50% of US youth (aged 12 to 21 years) are sedentary (ie, undertake <30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day as recommended by the US Surgeon General).¹ A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Ga) found that 256 686 (14% of total) deaths in 1986 in the United States were a result of no regular exercise.² Sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for at least 35 chronic health conditions and increased mortality from these conditions.³ Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and obese individuals live about 7 years less than the average US lifespan. Thus, a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States is sedentary living. Given these facts, the term sedentary death syndrome categorizes the emerging entity of sedentary lifestyle–mediated disorders that ultimately result in increased mortality rates.

Sedentary death syndrome . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Manu V. Chakravarthy, MD, PhD
Philadelphia, Pa

Frank W. Booth, PhD
Department of Biomedical Sciences
University of Missouri–Columbia
1600 E Rollins Rd
E102, Veterinary Medicine Bldg
Columbia, MO 65211
(e-mail: boothf@missouri.edu)

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