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Antonio Moreno Llamas, Jesús García Mayor and Ernesto De la Cruz Sánchez, researchers from the University of Murcia (UMU), have studied the collateral effects of the digitization process that our society is suffering.

His work has been published by the magazine Technology in Society. Technological development, the researchers explain, has led to improvements and advances in areas as important as medicine, but, they also warn us, it has a cost in terms of health for the population. The relationship between the parameters of technological development and digitization, according to the work of Moreno, García Mayor and De la Cruz, is that, for any EU country, advancing one tenth in the DESI index means increasing the sedentary lifestyle of its population in 12.76 minutes a day, something that can lead to increased health problems such as an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. A problem that affects us all Moreno, García Mayor and De la Cruz emphasize that today we have many tasks "just one click away", something that has reduced what is known as "light physical activity".

We have lost, they exemplify, the trips that we used to include in daily tasks such as shopping or going to the bank to carry out any type of transaction. "The practice of physical activity or sports a few times a week, on a specific basis, may not be enough to prevent the appearance of some health problems in the long term.

You have to move every day, frequently, move actively and spend little time sitting to maintain functionality ", advise the researchers, who also highlight the importance of following a healthy diet that allows us to maintain the" balance between food intake and expenditure.

" The more digitized, the more sedentary The study had a sample of more than 28,000 people, representative of the 28 member countries of the European Union (EU).

Its results point to a directly proportional relationship between the digitization of the country and the hours that its population spends sitting. In terms of sedentary behavior, the northern countries stand out and, among them, the Netherlands, whose inhabitants spend 6.5 hours a day sitting.

Spain obtains the figure of 4.4 hours of inactivity per day, placing it below the European average, which remains at 5 sedentary hours each day. The EU, explains De la Cruz, professor at the UMU School of Sports Sciences, measures technological development according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which is based on five indicators: connectivity, human capital, use of the Internet, integration of digital technology and digital public services.

In this way, each country is given a value between 0 and 1, with 1 being the maximum level of development and 0 the minimum. At the top of the EU in terms of development according to DESI is Denmark (0.71 points), while in last place is Romania (0.33).

In this index, Spain is just in the middle level (0.54 points). What can we do? In this scenario, Moreno, García Mayor and De la Cruz, highlight the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle and recovering mobility in our daily tasks: "One can practice one sport a week, something that, of course, is very healthy, but frequent, moderate intensity activity is also necessary, "they say. "Digitization is an irreversible and rapidly evolving process", indicate the authors, "but it is possible to limit the collateral impact of digitization on our health." Active travel is a good way to promote a healthier lifestyle, propose Moreno, García Mayor and De la Cruz, who are also committed to increasing green areas or even a more active use of technology itself in activities leisure activities, such as that offered by video games that require activity or exergames, or the increasingly frequent use of bracelets and smart watches that control our energy expenditure. Finally, the researchers emphasize that the responsibility must also lie at the time of legislating: "It is necessary for institutions and governments to rethink this progress taking into account health and sustainability criteria."

Source: Universidad de Murcia