Since the beginning of time humans explored and developed
new technology to make their activities of daily dwelling much less labour
excessive, greater efficient and, consequently, greater sedentary. In addition,
technological advances in medication all through history have caused a huge
increase in lifestyles expectancy. However, the combination of improved
sedentary behaviour and increased lifestyles-expectancy led to a pointy growth
in obese and weight problems related continual conditions and infection.
Although human beings may also live longer, they may be doing so with poorer
physical feature and a reduced pleasant of lifestyles. In this evaluation we
explore how technological advances have prompted human beings's sedentary
behaviour and, via the lens of the affective-reflective idea (ART), we advocate
a way by means of which generation can be repurposed to inspire greater engagement
in physical interest.
Introduction-Development of Technologies—The Good
Since the arrival of the species that walked upright on two
legs, new technologies have been advanced to make existence on the planet
simpler and more green. The homo habilis, who lived around 2.3 million years
ago, were the primary to increase tools from stones and are considered because
the “reachable man” of the species of the genus homo. The Homo erectus who
lived around two million years in the past and had a larger mind than the homo
habilis, was the first to leave Africa, and the first to apply fire for safety
and cooking . Human history is complete of technological advances in all
aspects of existence.
Human innovations that had been directed to make paintings
and life less bodily worrying commenced round six to seven thousand living
being ago with the discovery of the wheel and the horse or cattle drawn cart.
These inventions now not simplest saved humans the “attempt” of strolling,
carrying and lifting, however opened a brand new technology of alternate and
inspired the improvement of novel transportation modalities. These new ideas
materialised during the industrial revolution (1750–1914) which brought about
the improvement of new transportation alternatives on land, within the sea and
within the air Advanced technology in commercial enterprise stepped forward
paintings efficiency and profit while decreasing the quantity of bodily
paintings wanted, however for the duration of the second half of of the 20th
century, and particularly after the 70s, began the “electronics and
telecommunications revolution.” This time-duration saw the full-size use of a
variety of family home equipment designed to improve conversation (phones) and
reduce manual labour (computer systems, washing machines, vacuum cleaners).
Increase in lifestyles expectancy (black line) and in obese
and weight problems traits (OW and O, grey line) with superior in era and
clinical treatments. Created with BioRender.Com.
The technological revolution was not limited to improving
productivity, way of life, and entertainment but changed into additionally
essential to launching our cutting-edge clinical subject which began extra than
2,000 years in the past. Hippocrates, who's considered by means of many because
the “father of drugs,” turned into the first to map the human anatomy and
characterise sicknesses. He changed into also the first to treat illnesses via
specializing in modifications to humans's weight loss plan and bodily pastime,
which in state-of-the-art world we talk to it as “Exercise is Medicine” and/or
“life-style medicine” . A step forward in medication turned into the
improvement of the first vaccine, for smallpox, round 1,770, with subsequent
vaccines in the long run advanced for anthrax, fowl cholera, tetanus, and
others. The 20th century become full of scientific inventions that improved the
early analysis of ailment as well as remedy and control options. As a result,
lifestyles expectancy, which became solid at
years of age for thousands of years, improved dramatically inside the twentieth
century and currently it's far around 80 years .
Sedentary Behaviour—The Bad
While advances in generation have furnished many advantages
to society, new technology has additionally brought about a great discount in
the quantity of incidental physical hobby. Physical activities, previously
conducted as a part of a “popular” working day (energetic shipping, labour, and
many others.) or as a part of domestic obligations round the home (cleaning and
cooking), were reduced or changed by machines. The surprisingly recent
development of the internet and its accessibility on mobile devices
(telephones, pills, and others) has additionally negatively impacted our bodily
pastime. There are set up associations between internet usage throughout
leisure time and sedentary behaviour and obesity in children and adults .
Indeed, the overall discount in physical pastime, irrespective of the cause, as
well as the boom in the superiority of sedentary behaviours are powerfully connected
with the development of one of the most extreme health epidemics human beings
have confronted, the obesity epidemic, which also can be defined as a syndemic
as the danger of weight problems is higher in the ones from low-socioeconomic
repute (SES) and pre-existing inequities and social determinants of health . In
the USA, the prevalence of obese and weight problems “jumped” from <50%
within the 1960s to almost eighty% at present. The fitness consequences of
weight problems are profound and encompass the onset of diabetes, high blood
pressure and cardiovascular disease, intellectual and mental situations, and
other persistent diseases. Physical state of being inactive is both a precursor
and a consequence of weight problems, and, importantly, middle-aged and older
individuals who are bodily inactive are at a excessive risk of muscle groups
and power loss, sarcopenia, falls, fractures, cognitive decline, and
hospitalizations . Although people may be income longer, those later years
earlier than demise, are frequently lived with incapacity or continual sickness
that effect their practical capacity, independence, and satisfactory of
existence. This idea of development in fitness and well-being inspired the
United Nation in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) #three to ensure
health and properly-being for all . As attributed to Abraham Lincoln, “And in
the long run it is no longer the years on your existence that count number; it
is the life to your years
The Benefit in Increasing Physical Activity and Reducing
Sedentary Behaviour
There are considerable quick term and lengthy-term
purposeful, bodily, cognitive, medical, and intellectual fitness benefits
associated with retaining a physically active way of life and reducing
sedentary behaviours . Increased bodily hobby and workout ability is the nook
stone of every lifestyle intervention for wholesome and scientific populations
at any age group due to the tremendous proof for its effectiveness. Since the
first bodily interest suggestions and pointers publications, over 40 years in
the past, by the American College of Sports Medicine, masses of exercising
hints, for nearly every single population were written by means of the main
workout and scientific establishments within the world. Moreover, countrywide
and global hints and guidelines for minimum degrees of bodily pastime were
mounted in both the government and fitness sectors of severa international
locations . Despite minor differences in specificities, most recommendations
agree that a hundred and fifty min per week is the threshold at which there are
blessings to fitness . Meeting these suggestions consequences in approximately
75% of the total possible risk reduction for all-motive mortality and 50%
reduction in cardiovascular ailment mortality.
Technologies and Active Lifestyle—The Way Forward
Despite the wealth of proof demonstrating the benefits of
bodily activity, current federal tracking facts endorse that as of US adults and 20% of adolescents are meeting
their respective physical interest recommendations for cardio and electricity
sporting activities . A range of things make contributions to bodily state of
being inactive consisting of demographics, physical or intellectual fitness
situations, social and relational traits in addition to environmental factors.
The complex institutions between intra and inter-man or woman factors as well
as societal and economic elements that have an impact on health behaviours
create demanding situations in conceptualising and enforcing a hit
interventions to sell behaviour alternate. Thus, even as it became initially
assumed that proof based totally suggestions should inspire people to grow to
be greater bodily lively, it's miles now quite apparent that this sort of
rational-academic messaging of wanting to “flow more” is not riding the
population-stage behaviour exchange that is required to deal with bodily
inaction's contribution to the load of sickness. Many theories were formulated
to deal with the problem of the way to encourage people to alternate their
behaviour and have interaction in sustained, long-term physical pastime. In
relation to our suggestion of the interdependency of era as a preferred desire
of entertainment-time pastime and its relationships with physical state of no
activity tendencies, frameworks which link amusement of activities with the
incentive and behaviour to habitual pastime are maximum relevant to discover in
this context.
The Affective-Reflective Theory (ART) of bodily inaction and
workout is a unique approach to explaining why folks who are physically
inactive do or do no longer start and hold physical activity . Unlike preceding
theories which purport that knowledge, making plans and intrinsic fee can
pressure motivation and behaviour exchange, ART suggests that a more instant
emotive affiliation with physical activity could be a essential driving force .
Underpinning ART is the belief that computerized affective institutions of
workout (the instantaneous fine or terrible responses someone has) initiate
either an approach-orientated or an avoidance-oriented response to workout. The
ultimate response of both starting up exercising or ultimate sedentary depends
on the relative weight of each the perceived amusement of the new behaviour
(workout) vs. The affect associated with the cutting-edge state (inactiveness).
An additional contributing element is the managed reflective evaluation (e.G.,
an man or woman reflecting on their wishes and values). Individuals essentially
need to have both of those factors aligning in order to initiate an pastime.
The vast increases in net accessibility via technological interfaces, that
promote enjoyment time inaction, have now been inextricably connected to
institutions with enjoyment and fulfilment which the concept of workout
(despite the information of its advantages) can not supersede.
One of the challenges in surpassing the enjoyment of the
internet is that the websites and applications themselves are designed to
encourage customers to always interact thru personally designed algorithms
(recommended content), in addition to rewards and incentives (“likes,”
notifications) . These especially designed user-reports are uniquely powerful
due to this remarks triggering the discharge of dopamine, a neurotransmitter
related to praise-associated gaining knowledge of, satisfaction and,
substantially, addiction . With the frequency and period of net use growing
notably over the past decade mainly within the younger populace (concomitant to
a considerable upward thrust in internet dependancy), promoting behaviour
exchange that requires reduced use, or disuse, of these technology might be
even more challenging
This offers the question of whether or not it's miles viable
for the technological advances that contributed to reductions in bodily
interest to be repurposed to sell it. ART suggests that to create behaviour
change the person wishes to recognize the blessings of physical hobby, they
ought to fee their personal fitness and the behaviours that help it, and their
immediate affective (emotional) response to the stimulus (interest) need to
create greater perceived amusement than the opportunity (state of no activity)
. By retooling the generation that brings entertainment can we in the long run
use technologies to promote and motivate engagement in long-time period bodily
interest? This is seriously essential as is one in every of our finest
demanding situations from a Planetary Health perspective is attempting to find
approaches to incentivise healthy behaviour alternate
