Hypodynamia and hypokinesia – what is it and what are their consequences, what does hypodynamia affect

Hypokinesia and physical inactivity have become a real scourge of modern society, causing damage to health no less than other adverse factors like bad habits or environmental pollution. Physical inactivity as a cause of diseases has long come to the fore, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with its harmful effects.

What is hypodynamia and what are its consequences, how does hypodynamia differ from hypokinesia, what affects a person’s immobile lifestyle – you will receive answers to these and many other questions on this page.

What is hypodynamia, what does it affect and why is it dangerous?

The human body is designed perfectly and is designed for 100-120 years of active life. But the main condition for normal life is the active work of all its systems and apparatuses of organs. First of all, this applies to the muscles, which make up 25-40% of body weight.

Physical and mental labor is one of the basic human needs and its purpose. Man was created for activity. This applies to man, as a biological whole, and to all his systems and apparatuses, organs, tissues and cells.

Health is a derivative of physical, emotional, sexual and social harmony. The great physician of antiquity, Hippocrates, called the movement “food for life," and Plutarch called it “the pantry of health.” Muscles must work systematically to maintain and promote health. Stormy, full of tragic events of the XX century. can be called the age of hypodynamia without exaggeration.

The ancient Greeks answered the question “What is it – hypodynamia” (from the Greek hypo – below, below, under and dynamikos – strong). That is, hypodynamia is reduced mobility.

Hypokinesia (from the Greek hypo- and kinesis – movement) is a decrease in the strength and volume of movements due to the nature of labor activity in connection with the development of automation of production and everyday life. The effect of physical inactivity on the body, as well as hypokinesia, is exacerbated by the monotony of movements, which reduces a person’s performance, causes fatigue, nervousness, headaches, insomnia, and stress. For simplicity, in the future we will use the term "hypodynamia".

The danger of hypodynamia as a risk factor and cause of diseases

What is hypodynamia and why is it dangerous – the questions are by no means idle, since this is one of the troubles of our country. According to the All-Russian Research Institute of Physical Culture, about 70% of the population is not involved in physical education. What physical inactivity leads to – not only any physician will answer, but also people who are far from medicine. Chronic lack of motor activity in children hinders their normal physical development. The prevalence of physical inactivity among schoolchildren aged 11-17 is 50-80%. Among boys aged 11-14 years, the prevalence of hypodynamia varies in different cities from 50 to 60%, among girls aged 11 it varies from 60 to 70%, and by the age of 14 in girls this risk factor is more than 80%. The danger of physical inactivity also worries Russian students. So, more than 90% of students have insufficient physical activity, 60% of students — severe physical inactivity; almost every fifth student is in a state of deep hypokinesia. Significantly deteriorated indicators characterizing physical health in
villages of Russia. According to regional data, physical performance indicators decreased by 9-23% in children and adolescents and by 5-35% in adults, especially in areas with unfavorable environmental conditions. Consequently, an extremely unfavorable situation has developed in Russia with regard to the prevalence of physical inactivity, one of the powerful risk factors for the main diseases of Civilization. This situation testifies to the insufficient attention of both the state and each person to physical culture in the country.

Below you will find out what physical inactivity affects, and what consequences it entails.

How do hypodynamia and hypokinesia affect health?

Physical inactivity as a risk factor deals the main blow to the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular, respiratory, reproductive, endocrine and defense systems. Hypodynamia causes drastic changes in the morphofunctional state of the body:

• violation of fat metabolism, which leads to an increase in cholesterol in the blood and a violation of its metabolism;
• atherosclerosis;
• atrophy of muscles and bones;
• a decrease in the activity of protein synthesis with a simultaneous increase in their decay;
• decalcification of bones (“washing out” of calcium from bones);
• violation of electrolyte metabolism;
• endocrine disorders;
• decrease in basal metabolism up to 22%;
• decrease in body resistance;
• violation of libido and potency in men, libido and anorgasmia in women;
• disorders of nervous activity;
• decrease in the general tone of the cerebral cortex;
• sleep disturbance; violation of the emotional state;
• asthenic syndrome and neurasthenia.

As a result of a six-week bed rest of well-trained healthy student volunteers, they observed:

• decrease in myocardial strength;
• decrease in muscle mass;
• a decrease in the calcium content in the bones;
• decrease in the volume of circulating blood;
• weakening of sexual desire, erectile dysfunction;
• weakening of memory, slowing down of reactions, lethargy, apathy.

How else does physical inactivity affect the health of the younger generation and older people? With hypodynamia and hypokinesia, appetite increases. For a feeling of fullness, you need a large amount of food, the excess of which, with low energy consumption, turns into fat. A constant daily excess intake of 1% of energy during the year can lead to a significant increase in body weight. In people with higher levels of habitual physical activity, the hunger and satiety trigger functions more perfectly, and appetite is adequately regulated by high levels of physical activity. When the load is below a certain level, obesity can be avoided only with the help of forced abstinence from food.