sedentary lifestyle
A type of lifestyle with little or no physical activity, often characterised by long periods of sitting or lying down, such as watching TV or working at a computer.
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IELTS use
Relevant for discussing health problems, the impact of technology, and modern work habits in task 2 essays, reading, and speaking part 3.
Examples
- A sedentary lifestyle is linked to increased risks of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
- Many office workers lead a sedentary lifestyle because they sit at desks for most of the day.
- The article warns that a sedentary lifestyle is becoming more common among young people.
Collocations
- sedentary lifestyle leads to
- A sedentary lifestyle leads to poor health outcomes over time.
- sedentary lifestyle and obesity
- The link between a sedentary lifestyle and obesity is well established.
- increasingly sedentary lifestyle
- Technological advances have encouraged an increasingly sedentary lifestyle.
- combat a sedentary lifestyle
- Regular exercise can help combat a sedentary lifestyle.
Paraphrases
- inactive lifestyle: A simpler synonym, good for speaking.
- lack of physical activity: Emphasises the absence of movement.
- sedentarism: A more technical term; suitable for academic writing.
Common mistakes
- sedentary life style to sedentary lifestyle. The correct form is one word: 'lifestyle'.
- sedentary living to sedentary lifestyle. While 'sedentary living' is used, 'sedentary lifestyle' is the standard collocation in IELTS.
- sedentary means lazy to sedentary means involving little physical activity. Sedentary is about behaviour, not character.