How a sedentary lifestyle during COVID-19 can quickly affect your health.

Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic have made many in the United States adjust to homebound lifestyles, the abrupt disappearance of their commutes, and a drastic increase in time spent sitting.

By some accounts, people in the United States are spending an average of 6 hours per day sitting, 4 hours more than they were before the pandemic.

Overall sedentary behavior has also increased, with physical activity among the already active dropping by a third, and already sedentary people staying sedentary, according to a recent working paper in the journal Psychiatry.

All of that spells bad news for the health of the average person in the United States, who's already more sedentary than any other time in history.

'We have definitely seen instances of increased sedentary behavior, especially with more people at home during lockdowns, and more unemployment,' Dr. Richard Yoon, chief of orthopedics at Jersey City Medical Center in New Jersey, told Health line.

'Not only the physical effects but also the mental challenges posed by the pandemic have taken their toll,' he said.

'And I have seen that some of my patients are less active and visiting the fridge more often because of the loss of their old routines.' The danger of too little activity Sitting too much - as many of us are during lockdown at our computers or on our couches-is associated with increased risks for weight gain, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death, to name a few.

'It definitely takes less time for an unhealthy lifestyle to take hold than an active, healthy one,' Yoon said.

'Once you get into a routine of not doing much, you can start feeling the effects right away,' he said.

'Muscle breakdown can start in as little as 24 hours, and aches and pains start to creep in.' That sedentary behavior can also lead to increased back pain, which can make it less likely that a person will become active.

'Sedentary behavior and lifestyle have a very strong...