Sedentarism as deficiency disease of the modern human being

Álvaro Otero Campos & Sari M. Arponen

In our modern world, physical activity isn’t anymore a survival issue. It has become a choice, not a necessity. This reality is a turning point for our lives and in particular for our health. The necessity obliges, when to move or not to move is a life or death question. Current hunter-gatherers and our ancestors needed to move in order to search for food, water and shelter. 

Nowadays the overabundance and easy access to food and other resources make the movement optional, not a necessity. Moving is a recreational choice for humans. As we are lazy by nature in order to save energy, often the choice is not to move.

Numerous evidences and studies seem to confirm a causal relationship between physical inactivity and the chronic diseases of the 21st century, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, cardiovascular diseases or even cancer. The evidence suggests as well that  the best medicine to deal with these diseases is to "reprogram" our human organism and to move again like our ancestors. The benefits associated with this change are overwhelming. This article reviews these evidences.