In our daily lives, an average person working a 9-6 job spends most of the sun lit hours cocooned inside cubicles. That is nine hours a day, sitting on a supposedly ergonomic chair, looking at a well lit screen, and typing away text and numbers to be displayed on screen.
Yes, this activity of sitting at a desk or in a cubicle generates employment and earns livelihoods. However, it comes with an expensive trade-off. It is having a tremendous, adverse impact on health. We are witnessing this in the rapid increase of lifestyle diseases.
Stating that a sedentary lifestyle is leading to rise in lifestyle diseases is a generalized statement. There are multiple contributing factors. But, it is largely attributed to a lack of exercise due to the nature of today’s jobs. A few companies are incentivizing employees to get physically active. This initiative is well intentioned.
Source: Pexels, Thirdman
Though well intentioned, it was falls prey to the myth of good intentions leading to good outcomes. Individuals adapting various physical activities and companies promoting these activities suffer from a lack of information. Physical activity and diets do not solve the issue. To put it in perspective, it is not a lack of exercise causing the exponential rise in lifestyle diseases. It is lack of exposure to sunlight and subsequent Vitamin D deficiency resulting in the rise of lifestyle diseases.
With work migrating indoors, people are spending time away from the natural environment. It is leading to adverse health effects. The account of London-based journalist Naomi Canton and her ordeal with high Vitamin D deficiency, sheds light on how spending large chunks of time indoors – away from the natural environment can lead to severe health problems.
The Extent of Vitamin D Deficiency
While Dr. Simon Goddek’s tweet provides context, it highlights the importance of Vitamin D for a healthy life. The long hours, young adults and employees spend in classrooms and office spaces deprive them of this important vitamin.
The extent of Vitamin D deficiency is quite stark. It has reached an epidemic scale proportion not just in India, it has become a global scourge. A research article in 2012, stated at least 50% of the global population is affected by Vitamin D Deficiency (VDD). Every second person on the planet lacks sufficient levels of this essential vitamin.
In India, the situation is even dire. Documenting the severity of the issue, a journal article in 2014 reported, Vitamin D deficiency in the Indian subcontinent prevails in epidemic proportions affecting 70% -100% of the general population. A recent data analysis by Tata 1 mg Labs corroborates this assertion. Analysing the data collected from more than 2.2 lakh people across 27 cities in the country, it revealed nearly 76% of Indian population suffers from this medical condition.
Also, the evolution of socioreligious and cultural practices in India do not facilitate sun exposure. It is easy to presume that this lifestyle disease is predominantly an urban phenomenon. Medical studies disprove this assumption. People living urban and rural areas across the socioeconomic and geographical strata suffer from it.
Lack of accessible and varied outdoor spots for leisure and activity, there are not many avenues to spend sufficient time in the sunlight. Having a more active lifestyle, the prevalence of VDD in Europe and North America is comparatively lower. However, on a global scale – the homosapien sapiens collectively is staring at global epidemic. Every second human on the planet is facing a deficiency of Vitamin D.
Effect of Vitamin D Deficiency
We are taught early in school the importance of a balanced diet. Vitamins are a crucial component of individual dietary intake for a balanced diet. Vitamin D is one of the essential nutrients that play an important role in maintaining overall health, particularly bone health and immune function.
In theory, having a balanced diet takes care of the required dietary needs. This simplistic argument at best is educational. We human beings live in a complex system where basic vectors of health, housing, finance act differently for each individual. It can keep Vitamin D foods out of diets or limit the intake causing an insufficiency or deficiency.
This has an adverse impact on physical and mental health. It is one of the contributing factors for a range of ailments – rickets, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, fatigue, weakness, depression, irritability and a host of other issues. It can has the potential to disrupt sleep cycles and make us vulnerable to diseases such as cancer, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, autism, asthma and more.
This is where sunlight comes in. Sunlight is the most natural source of Vitamin D available and is accessible for everyone. Whether you are in an urban area or rural area, an individual can spend time out in the sun. Earlier, people walked down to their nearest grocery store to buy groceries, went to the local food stall or outlet for an evening snack, played in parks, ground, or on terraces in the sunlight hours. These activities provided enough sunlight for Vitamin D3 synthesis for the body to absorb the nutrient for a better health.
Where We Are Today
We humans as a collective are seeing the very scenario playing out in real time. In the past few decades, there is a massive spurt in mental illnesses and lifestyle diseases. Spending time in a natural environment, even for a limited time, away from digital and virtual devices, enhances mood and uplifts spirit. Unable to get it, people are looking for alternate resources – pills and drugs to feel good, get a high.
A study of 787 operating room nurses in Taiwan was conducted to understand the impact of spending long hours in operating rooms (ORs). Spending long hours in the OR means limited exposure to sunlight. The study indicated a positive association with sunlight exposure and mental health. It suggested appropriate enhancement of sunlight exposure for better mental health.
Insufficient exposure to sunlight exposure can worsen mental health. With individualism becoming an existential viewpoint, people sometimes lack a social support system to mitigate effects of poor mental health. Practicing normal behavior patterns can help hide any issue. It is during this phase people seek out chemical methods – drugs and pills to feel good.
Source: Pixabay
This also birthed rise of the medical supplement industry. Medical supplements taken at the advise of your physician can help mitigate specific and personal medical ailments. However, people today swear by supplements as a supplement for food. This $200 billion global industry is not a replacement for healthy, home cooked food.
Efficacy of these health supplements is under questions. John Hopkins researchers suggest a vast majority of dietary supplements offer little to no benefit in preventing chronic diseases. Nor does it extend lifespans in generally healthy individuals. But, consuming large doses of these supplements can be harmful. It advises careful administration of such medicines under the supervision of a medical advisor.
What Can We Do?
Also, we need a review of our current job structure. From the measurement of productivity from the early days of Fordism and Taylorism to the current Human Resource Management (HRM), measuring employee productivity has changed. However, the new management paradigm is limited to white collar sector benefited by globalisation. It is also a cultural imposition on global work cultures.
Some of these changes are beneficial and play a crucial role in securing employee rights. The implementation of these is at the whim of the manager and work environments. There is a toxic culture that celebrates lack of a personal life and creates a situation where employees think twice about availing benefits accrued to them due to a lack of job security.
In this rapidly changing world, there is a need to take a step back and improve our work structure and culture. Human lives and health are stake here. And, a human being can be productive when they are healthy. Such an approach would be beneficial for the companies and the economy itself.
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Thats a great eye opener Vijay. It actually cleared the blur understanding of How Lifestyle changes are affecting our Vitamin D levels.
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Thank you for spending your time and reading it.🙂
It was just as eye-opening for me as well. I feel there is a need for a shift from a GDP-centric economy to a human-centric economy to correct these issues
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The problem is the way the world works now, we no longer have time or energy to go out and enjoy the sun like we used to. Like you said, most of us work inside too which doesn’t help. I’ve had a vitamin D deficiency for years now and just take the supplement because the symptoms of the deficiency can be debilitating.
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I do agree lifestyle is a part of the problem. On weekends, despite having the chance, it is rare that I venture out. And we spend most of our sunlight hours in office cubicles and cabins. However, I feel with a changing job environment, self-employment is going to rise and it is the right time to plant the seeds for a lifestyle that defines us.
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Yes, I think so.
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