In India, almost 10 million people suffer from hemorrhoids every year. And the number increases every year due to stress, constipation, and the increasing reliance on fast food by people leading such a sedentary lifestyle. Various studies show that most people encounter hemorrhoids at ages between 45-65. But now, an alarming concern is that the youth in their early 20s and 30s are also experiencing hemorrhoids which are largely due to poor lifestyle choices. In this blog, we will discuss the effects of sedentary lifestyle on constipation and piles.
A Brief of Poor Lifestyle Choices
Adopting western diets, lack of proper exercise, prolonged working hours, and leading a sedentary lifestyle with no physical activities can be termed as poor lifestyle choices. Much also has to do with the jobs of people. Unlike previous generations, many of today’s youth are employed in jobs that are more mentally demanding (than physical) and require them to be glued to chair for 8-10 hours a day. This combined with the lack of physical exercise and poor eating habits is a recipe for disaster. This not-so-good combination makes a person prone to various diseases like diabetes, obesity, constipation, etc.
Another concern is that a growing number of teenage children are also experiencing hemorrhoids. This is a problem teenage children belonging to earlier generations have never faced. This is because children today prefer to sit at home and game all day rather than actually going out and playing. Gaming for long hours paired with eating unhealthy fiber-lacking junk food are some of the main reasons for hemorrhoids in teenagers.
Why exercise is important for healthy bowel movement?
A sedentary lifestyle by definition is a way of living with little to no physical activity. The long-term effects of a sedentary lifestyle obviously include weight gain and constipation. Moderate to good physical activities promote muscle contractions in the bowel wall and this can have an opposite positive effect on constipation. Having a sedentary lifestyle, on the contrary, puts you highly under the risk of getting constipation.
How are the sedentary lifestyles and hemorrhoids linked?
With a sedentary lifestyle, you are much likely to be obese and constipated. Both of these factors contribute to developing hemorrhoids. Being overweight adds more pressure to the tissues and veins in and around the anal region. Having constipation makes your strain more which puts more pressure on the veins and tissue around the anal region thus causing hemorrhoids. So it is a vicious cycle. The more sedentary you are, the more constipated are you. The more constipated you are, the more chances of getting hemorrhoids or making your hemorrhoids worse. So eat well and play well to be away from hemorrhoids.