Sedentary behavior is when you spend a lot of time sitting, lying down, or reclining in a way that doesn’t use much energy when you’re awake (Sedentary Behaviour Research Network, 2012; Tremblay et al., 2017). It’s different from being physically inactive, which means not getting enough exercise. Both sitting too much and not being active enough are bad for your health.
Morris (1953) began to study the effects of sitting versus being active, but it wasn’t until around 2000 that there was a big increase in research on sedentary behavior and health. Researchers who study sedentary behavior measure it in a number of ways (Biddle, 2019), such as how much time ones spend sitting in a day, how long you sit without moving, or how much time you spend doing specific things like watching TV, using a computer, sitting in a car, or sitting at work or school.
Biddle, S. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts. Academic Press.
Morris, J. N., Heady, J. A., Raffle, P. A. B., Roberts, C. G., & Parks, J. W. (1953). Coronary heart disease and physical activity of work. The Lancet, ii, 10531057, 11111120.
Sedentary Behaviour Research Network. (2012). Letter to the Editor: Standardized use of the terms “sedentary” and “sed- entary behaviours”. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 37, 540542.
Tremblay, M. S., Aubert, S., Barnes, J. D., Saunders, T. J., Carson, V., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., … Wondergem, R. (2017). Sedentary Behavior Research Network (SBRN) – Terminology Consensus Project. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14, 75.
