Specific Purpose
The general purpose of this speech is to inform listeners on the negative consequences of sitting for a long period.
General Idea
The central idea of the speech is to point out the three main damages that sitting for a long time can cause in the human body.
Introduction
Attention Getter
Rome was not built in a day, and consequences of inability or reluctance to move during a day can gradually spoil lives on all levels.
Reveal of my Topic
This shapes the topic of my speech that is the negative impact of a sedentary lifestyle on the well-seeing of a human.
Credibility Established
Its effects are credible, because they are scientifically proven, consequently, I am going to provide the medical evidence and illustrate it by reliable examples.
Preview of Main Points
As far as the roots of causes are physical, the main points of my speech cover such outcomes of the sedentary lifestyle as leg disorders, muscle degeneration, and bad back.
Transition
Covering physical problems caused by the sedentary lifestyle, I would like to enumerate them and cover their main consequences.
Pattern of Organization of the Body
The body of my speech consists of the three main points related to the consequences of sitting for a long time. The first point is devoted to legs disorders with sub points about vein thrombosis, varicose veins, and muscle atrophy and sub-sub points illustrating the problem. The first point is about muscle degeneration with subpoints shading the light onto the troubles with the neck and shoulders, muscles destruction, and flattening of feet with sub-subpoints reflecting the matter. The third point covers the bad back issue with subpoints about such its outcomes as spinal discs, bad posture, and kyphosis with sub-subpoints supporting the matter.
Body
First Main Point
Legs significantly suffer from sitting for a long time with numerous health disorders developed, including vein thrombosis, varicose veins, and muscle atrophy
Sub Point
First, sitting for a long period can provoke deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Sub-Subpoint
According to Lurati, this disease is when blood clots in legs are broken, consequently, the blood flow to other body parts stops, and this results in a pulmonary embolism (286).
Sub-Subpoint
The worst point of the matter is the level of its imminence of death.
Subpoint
Second, sitting for a long time leads to the formation of blood pools in the legs, that provoke varicose veins.
Sub-Subpoint
With the bloodstream made vivid, the legs of a person lose their attractiveness and decrease his or her self-esteem. Meanwhile, the legs get weaker and problems with moving are formed.
Sub-Subpoint
Varicose veins are dangerous, because they are one of the most wide-spread reasons for the more serious deep vein thrombosis.
Sub-Subpoint
Third, I should point out that the sedentary way of life leads to muscle atrophy of legs and, gradually, of the whole body.
Sub-Subpoint
First, with the muscle atrophy of legs, moving turns into a torture.
Sub-Subpoint
Second, muscle atrophy of legs leads to the loss of body balance, and the risk of accidental injures raises.
Connective
In terms of problems caused by sedentary life, troubles with legs are the first to feel, meanwhile, sedentary life has many more causes that influence the whole health of a person.
Second Main Point
The second point I would like to cover is muscle degeneration.
Subpoint
Muscle degeneration is a serious process that inevitably affects non-moving humans. The results may vary from those that can be easily fixed to death.
Sub-Subpoint
First, when it happens to the neck and shoulders, headaches get inevitable, but this is just the top of the iceberg.
Sub-Subpoint
Then, the eyesight gets damaged, and, if not timely fixed, blindness is formed.
Sub-Subpoint
Next, the oxygen does not get to the head in the needed amount and the blood pleasure changes. This can result in faints, heart issues, and, in some serious cases, death.
Subpoint
Second, even a couple of weeks of sedentary lifestyle can spoil muscles and destroy nearly the whole progress from exercising.
Sub-Subpoint
The more times people stay inactive, the faster their physical achievements disappear. According to Martins, the scientific explanation of this is the extensive activation of glycogenolysis and anaerobic glycolysis, or, simplifying this, the change of the oxygen balance and, consequently, metabolic processes in the body (1200).
Sub-Subpoint
The lack of movement changes the structure of muscles and even if the muscles of a sedentary person are formed, they are not as strong as the muscles of a person who lives a healthy lifestyle.
Subpoint
Third, constant sitting leads to the gradual flattening of feet.
Sub-Subpoint
Sedentary lifestyle puts all muscles into a different kind of posture with hamstring muscles stretched, quadriceps lost, and a different kind of hips posture formed.
Sub-Subpoint
The muscles strained and nerves compressed leads to the change of the posture with a huge pressure set on kneecaps with the flattening of feet and significant problems with balance.
Connective
Apart from problems with legs and muscles, sitting for a long time leads to back injuries.
Third Main Point
The sedentary lifestyle boosts the development of the so-called bad back, including compression on the spinal discs, bad posture, and kyphosis.
Subpoint
Sitting for a long time leads to a steady and inevitable compression on the spinal discs. Consequently, their nutrition is hindered and their premature degeneration can be caused by severe pain, visual effects, and aging.
Sub-Subpoint
According to Lurati, in normal conditions, humans start losing their height at the age of thirty, but this is not noticeable (287). Meanwhile, the sedentary lifestyle leads to the change of a human’s back length. Then, the lack of oxygen occurs with skin aging quicker.
Sub-Subpoint
An inactive lifestyle puts pressure on spinal discs that develops gradually and results in pain in the neck and back, second, it spreads to arms or legs with significant weakness felt. The sensation in the feet can be nearly lost and coordination troubles are developing, additionally, libido and sexual abilities are affected.
Subpoint
Second, an obvious result of sitting for so long is bad posture.
Sub-Subpoint
For example, I have noticed that the more I seat in a chair, the more I slouch to find the most comfortable and relaxed position. Then, my back looks as if I was trying to touch the desk by my belly and the backaches come if this is the only tool of my body I use. Next, I try to stand up with a good posture, but it is complicated. The reason is that the spine muscles weakened and the body got used to the simpler way of its positioning.
Sub-Subpoint
Sedentary lifestyle ruins the ability of a human to train for achieving normal posture. According to Martins, the lack of movement leads to the inevitable dystrophy of spine muscles that regulate the whole body (1200). Consequently, the less we train, the less we can train from the physical point of view.
Subpoint
Third, sitting for a long time leads to kyphosis associated with problems with loins, that occurs when the weight of the body is incorrectly distributed.
Sub-Subpoint
Overall, the spinal column is deformed, and kyphosis is likely to appear the same as the main character of Walt Disney’s ‘‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’’. This condition is also widely known as a hunchback and noted by an excessive curvature of the back.
Sub-Subpoint
According to Caplan, the consequences of this disorder include severe pain, breathing problems, and constant fatigue, then, flexibility, mobility, and activity of the body are decreasing (200). The whole well-being of a person decreases, low self-esteem and depression are formed.
Connective
With all the major dramatic effects of sitting for too long pointed out, I can move to the last word.
Conclusion
Summary of Main Points
As far as the roots of body and soul sufferings are caused by the sedentary lifestyle, the major problems are physical, including leg disorders, muscle degeneration, and a bad back. Leg disorders include thrombosis, varicose veins, and muscle atrophy of legs. Muscle degeneration can lead to troubles with the neck and shoulders, destruction of sportive progress, the flattening of feet. Bad back involves compression on the spinal discs, bad posture, and problems with loins.
Call to Action
My call to action is to remember that health is wealth and to prevent the occurrence of such problems by living healthy lifestyles, exercising, walking, swimming, and playing sports. Those who are stuck with sedentary jobs should either reconsider their desire for such positions, either work on their daily schedule to leave some time for fitness. People, those who already face the consequences of sitting for so long, should see the professional and get recommendations to follow. Elsewise, with nothing done and the health let run its course, the problems of this kind are prone to worsen.
Memorable Close/Clincher — Tie Back to Introduction
Due to the sedentary lifestyle, the whole body of a human suffers from the weakening of muscles. These consequences can be visually noticeable, meanwhile, they influence the complete health system of a person, including blood pressure and circulation, metabolic processes, breathing, and moving. The problems can be prevented and improved, if a human exercises, but, if nothing is done, the negative effects can grow gradually and become fatal.
Sources Cited
Caplan, Debora. Back Trouble: A New Approach to Prevention and Recovery. American Center for the Alexander Technique, Inc., 2019.
Lurati, Ann, R. ‘‘Health Issues and Injury Risks Associated with Prolonged Sitting and Sedentary Lifestyles.’’ Workplace Health & Safety. vol. 66, no. 6, 2017, pp. 285–290.
Martins, Larissa, et al. ‘‘The Factors Related to a Sedentary Lifestyle: A Meta‐Analysis Review.’’ Journal of Advanced Nursing. vol. 77, no. 3, 2020, pp. 1188-1205.