Health Topic

Health Risks of an Inactive Lifestyle

An inactive lifestyle, with too much sitting and not enough exercise, is bad for you. Learn about the health risks and how you can be more active.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: Sedentary lifestyle · Sitting disease

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Health Risks of an Inactive Lifestyle

Being a couch potato. Not exercising. A sedentary or inactive lifestyle. These all mean the same thing: a lifestyle with a lot of sitting and lying down, with very little or no exercise.

People are spending more time doing sedentary activities. During our leisure time, we are often sitting while using a computer or other device, watching TV, or playing video games. Many of our jobs have become more sedentary, with long days sitting at a desk or while commuting. And the way most of us get around involves sitting - in cars, on buses, and on trains.

When you have an inactive lifestyle:

  • You burn fewer calories. This makes you more likely to gain weight
  • You may lose muscle strength and endurance, because you are not using your muscles as much
  • Your bones may get weaker and lose some mineral content
  • Your metabolism may be affected, and your body may have more trouble breaking down fats and sugars
  • Your immune system may not work as well
  • You may have poorer blood circulation
  • Your body may have more inflammation
  • You may develop a hormonal imbalance

Having an inactive lifestyle can increase your risk of developing chronic (long-term) diseases. This is sometimes referred to as "sitting disease". By not getting regular exercise, you raise your risk of:

  • Obesity
  • Heart diseases, including coronary artery disease and heart attack
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Stroke
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Certain cancers, including colon, breast, and uterine cancers
  • Osteoporosis and falls
  • Increased feelings of depression and anxiety

Having a sedentary lifestyle can also raise your risk of premature death. And the more sedentary you are, the higher your health risks are.

If you have been inactive, you may need to start slowly. Your health care provider can help you choose the best type or amount of activity for you based on your fitness level and health. You can keep adding more exercise gradually. The more you can do, the better. But try not to feel overwhelmed and do what you can. Getting some exercise is always better than getting none. Eventually, your goal can be to get the recommended amount of exercise for your age and health.

There are many ways to get exercise; it is important to find the types that are best for you. You can also try to add activity to your life in smaller ways, such as at home and at work.

There are some ways you can be active around your house:

  • Housework, gardening, and yard work are all physical work. To increase the intensity, you could try doing them at a more vigorous pace.
  • Keep moving while you watch TV. Lift hand weights, do some gentle yoga stretches, or pedal an exercise bike.
  • Work out at home with a workout video (on your TV or on the internet).
  • Go for a walk in your neighborhood. It can be more fun if you walk your dog, walk your kids to school, or walk with a friend.
  • Stand up when talking on the phone.
  • Get some exercise equipment for your home. Treadmills and elliptical trainers are great, but not everyone has the money or space for one. Less expensive equipment such as yoga balls, exercise mats, stretch bands, and hand weights can help you get a workout at home too.

Most of us sit when we are working, often in front of a computer. It can be challenging to fit physical activity into your busy workday, but here are some tips to help you get moving:

  • Get up from your chair and move around at least once an hour
  • Park at the back of the parking lot
  • Stand when you are talking on the phone or during a video conference
  • Find out whether your company can get you a stand-up or treadmill desk
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator
  • Use your break or part of your lunchtime to walk around the building
  • Stand up and walk to a colleague's office instead of sending an email
  • Have "walking" or standing meetings with co-workers instead of sitting in a conference room

The good news is that it's never too late to change your exercise habits. You can start slowly and find ways to fit more physical activity into your life. Regular exercise has many benefits and may help prevent or control many diseases.

It sits within Wellness and Lifestyle and Fitness and Exercise.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Health Risks of an Inactive Lifestyle

2 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Sedentary Behavior. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Health Risks of an Inactive Lifestyle, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.