The students who are "trapped" in their seats are becoming more and more "fragile"...

Hemorrhoids are a very common anal condition, and although they are more common in adults, people of any age can get hemorrhoids - yes, even children and teenagers can get them.

Virtually everyone is born with hemorrhoidal tissue, which normally helps us feel what's in our rectum, allowing us to tell whether the pressure we feel in the anal area is gas, a normal bowel movement, or the onset of ejaculation.

However, factors such as prolonged sitting, chronic constipation, a low-fiber diet, and genetics can increase pressure in the rectal and anal areas, causing blood in the area to stagnate and accumulate in the blood vessels, causing the blood vessels to swell and dilate, thus forming hemorrhoids. In addition, as people age, the connective tissue between the anus and rectum weakens, and the risk of hemorrhoids increases.

Therefore, hemorrhoids usually develop gradually, and children and adolescents are less likely to get hemorrhoids than adults. However, some studies have shown that the incidence of hemorrhoids in children and adolescents seems to be increasing. Among underage hemorrhoid patients, teenage boys are relatively prone to external hemorrhoids, and the most common risk factor is constipation.

In addition, factors such as sitting on hard chairs for a long time and not drinking enough water can also increase the risk of hemorrhoids in children.

Hemorrhoids can be divided into internal hemorrhoids and external hemorrhoids. Image source: merilllife

What is worrying is that in recent years, many studies have shown that children are increasingly sitting for long periods of time. The impact of long periods of sitting on children is far more than just an increased risk of hemorrhoids. It may also reduce blood vessel function, make it difficult to concentrate, and even increase the risk of depression.

Decreased blood vessel function

Like adults, children's blood vessel function declines after sitting for a long time, and their risk of cardiovascular disease increases.

In a 2015 study, nine girls participated in the experiment. The reason why they were all girls was that previous studies have shown that there are gender differences in vascular function and children's sedentary behavior, so the researchers chose experimental participants of the same gender. They were aged between 7 and 10 years old, had no chronic diseases, and had healthy vascular function.

In the sedentary experiment, the girls were asked to sit on large bean bags for three hours while watching a movie, playing on an iPad or reading. They could move their arms to adjust the volume or play, but they were not allowed to stand. If they needed to go to the bathroom, someone would push them there.

In the experiment of interrupting long periods of sitting, the girls also had to sit for 3 hours, but the difference was that they had to ride a bike for 10 minutes before the start of each hour of sitting.

Before and after each experiment, they were required to undergo vascular function tests. The results showed that after sitting for 3 hours, the girls' flow-mediated dilation (FMD) decreased by about 33%.

FMD is an indicator of endothelial function, which reflects the functional status of blood vessels by measuring the degree of expansion of the vascular endothelium under blood flow stimulation. Higher FMD values ​​generally indicate better vascular function, while lower FMD values ​​may be associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, such as cardiac death, myocardial infarction and stroke.

According to existing studies on adults, in the long run, if vascular function continues to decline by 1%, the risk of cardiovascular disease will increase by 13%. Fortunately, the study also found that 10 minutes of exercise before sitting for an hour can effectively prevent the adverse effects of sitting for a long time , and the effect of the decline in FMD value can be eliminated, that is, vascular function can be protected.

Dr. Ali McManus, an author of the paper and a professor of health and exercise science at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Canada, said that people should encourage teenagers to stand up and move around at least once an hour. Walking around the classroom or living room should be helpful.

Increased risk of depression

In February 2020, a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry found that sedentary behavior in adolescents is associated with a higher risk of depression.

The study involved 4,000 teenagers in total. The researchers used objective measures, such as accelerometers and heart rate monitors, to assess the teenagers' physical activity levels and sedentary behavior, as well as standardized questionnaires to assess their depressive symptoms, such as low mood, loss of interest, and difficulty concentrating.

By measuring the adolescents multiple times and tracking their developmental trajectories, the researchers found that between the ages of 12 and 16, the adolescents' sedentary behavior increased, from an average of 7 hours and 10 minutes to 8 hours and 43 minutes, while the amount of light activity decreased, from an average of 5 hours and 26 minutes to 4 hours and 5 minutes. It is important to note that for every 60 minutes of sedentary time per day, the depression score will increase by about 10% by the age of 18.

"Our results suggest that young people who are inactive for most of the day throughout adolescence are at higher risk of depression at age 18," said lead author Aaron Kandola, a PhD student in psychiatry at University College London.

“It is worrying that time spent inactive among young people has been gradually increasing over many years, yet there is little high-quality research into how inactivity affects mental health. The number of young people experiencing depression also appears to be increasing, and our research suggests that these two trends may be related.”

Increased sedentary behavior among adolescents corresponds to a higher risk of depression. Image source: anaterate

Moderate exercise can effectively prevent the risk of depression, even light activity is helpful. Studies have found that even just one hour of light activity per day (such as walking) can reduce the risk of depression in adolescents later in life.

In addition to vascular function and the risk of depression, long-term sitting has many other effects on children, such as causing children to be unable to concentrate, affecting children's physical development, increasing the risk of eyestrain and myopia, and making them prone to emotional problems.

Good grades, but afraid of failure

Recently, the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report has just been released. This assessment project was initiated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Since 2000, it has assessed the basic abilities of 15-year-old students around the world in reading, mathematics, science, etc. every three years. The report results are often considered to reflect the educational level of different regions.

In this assessment, Singaporean students scored the highest in the three areas of reading, mathematics and science. Students from Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as Japan and South Korea, followed closely behind. Such results are even more remarkable as the performance of students in many countries and regions has declined.

However, academic success does not necessarily translate into greater happiness. The assessment, which examined student happiness for the first time, found that students with high math scores in Asia reported “high fear of failure and limited participation in extracurricular activities such as sports.”

In contrast, in places with lower average PISA test scores, such as Spain and Peru, students reported lower levels of anxiety and placed greater importance on physical activity.

As academic pressure increases, screen time increases, and the ten-minute break between classes disappears, the possible impact of children's long-term sitting on their physical and mental health deserves more research.

Of course, adults should not take sitting for long periods of time lightly. After all, as we age, the connective tissue between the anus and rectum becomes weaker, and hemorrhoids become more likely to develop...

References

[1] Yildiz, T., Aydin, DB, Ilce, Z., Yucak, A., & Karaaslan, E. (2019). External hemorrhoidal disease in children and teenagers: Clinical presentations and risk factors. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 35(3), 696. doi: 10.12669/pjms.35.3.442

[2] Moyer, MW (2022). Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Hemorrhoids. NY Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/11/well/live/hemorrhoids-symptoms-treatment.html

[3] McManus, AM, Ainslie, PN, Green, DJ, Simair, RG, Smith, K., & Lewis, N. (2015). Impact of prolonged sitting on vascular function in young girls. Exp. Physiol., 26370881. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26370881

[4] Kandola, A., Lewis, G., Osborn, DPJ, Stubbs, B., & Hayes, JF (2020). Depressive symptoms and objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior throughout adolescence: a prospective cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry, 7(3), 262–271. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30034-1

[5] Ucl. (2022). Sitting still linked to increased risk of depression in adolescents. UCL News. Retrieved from https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/feb/sitting-still-linked-increased-risk-depression-adolescents

doi: 10.3390/ijerph16091482

[7] https://www.oecd.org/publication/pisa-2022-results/

[8] Welle, D. (2023). Germany's students fare worse than ever in PISA school tests. Dw. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-students-fare-worse-than-ever-in-pisa-school-tests/a-67638952

[9] Yang Jian, Wu Ming, Qiu Fubing, Li Anqiao, Jiang Jingyuan, Zhu Ting. Study on health-related sedentary behavior in children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old [J]. Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Theory and Practice, 2020, 26(12): 1365-1372.

Planning and production

Source: Bringing Science Home (id: steamforkids)

Author | Cloud, editor of Everything Magazine

Proofreader | Ah Xian, Editor of "Everything" Magazine

Editor: Yang Yaping