Kids are generally not conscious of things like their posture, clothing and other habits. They have to be constantly reminded not to slouch and do things that can end up hurting them. Good posture is very important for kids, it not only allows them to look confident, but it also helps them avoid injuries, bone misalignments or any other issues.

Many things can affect their posture - injuries, weak muscles, and even their genes can play a role. But what kids do every day matters a lot as well. Sitting hunched over while playing video games, carrying a backpack that's too heavy, or getting hurt during sports can all make their posture bad. Good posture helps kids avoid pain and enjoy activities. So, it's important to help them learn good habits when they are young.

Here are some yoga poses that can help your child fix their bad posture and ensure a good foundation for them to grow.

Bridges Pose

This exercise makes the muscles in the bottom and lower back strong. Strong muscles help kids stand up straight. Have your child lie on their back with their knees bent. Then, tell them to slowly lift their bottom off the floor. Make sure they breathe in while lifting and breathe out while lowering. You can make it fun by having them count out loud or blow air while they lower their bottom. This helps them learn to control their muscles.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

This pose is like standing like a mountain, strong and tall. It teaches kids how to stand with their bodies in a good line. Start by standing with feet flat on the floor, like roots going into the ground. Feel the weight evenly spread out on both feet. Then, tighten the muscles in the legs, and make the spine grow tall, like the trunk of a tree.

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

This pose is like a cobra lifting its head, and it helps open the chest and make the back stronger. It's a bit harder than some other poses, so kids should be careful. To do it, start by lying on the stomach, then slowly push up with the forearms. Lift the chest off the floor, like a cobra rising up. It's important to go slowly and stop if there's any pain in the back.

Downward-Facing Dog Yoga Pose

This yoga pose helps stretch and strengthen many muscles. It helps the core, hips, and shoulders. Have your child start on their hands and knees. Then, tell them to lift their hips up and back. They should make a shape like an upside-down "V". Tell them to hold this position for a few seconds and remember to breathe normally. This pose helps them become flexible and strong.

Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

When done correctly, this yoga pose can help you fix bad posture and strengthen your back and chest muscles. Imagine your body making the shape of a bow. To do this pose safely, it's important to warm up your body first. This helps prevent any injuries. Bow pose is powerful for improving posture, and helping to open up the chest and shoulders.

One of the myths about chairs is that the more cushion you have, the better the support. However, comfort and support are not the same thing. A soft feeling chair may allow the body to sink into a position that is not in proper alignment of the spine, pelvis, neck and shoulders.

Gaming chairs often come with plush padding, deep seats, high backrests, and reclining mechanisms. These features may make the chair cozy for long gaming sessions. But this comfort can be at the expense of posture if the chair does not have enough lumbar support or the person is sitting in a slumped posture. The problem isn’t necessarily that a gaming chair is soft. The bigger issue is how the chair supports the body and how long the person sits in the same position.

How Long Hours Of Sitting Can Strain The Spine

When person sit for hours on end, the muscles that support the spine are working non-stop to maintain the correct posture. A backward roll of the pelvis and rounding of the lower back can put additional strain on the muscles and structures that surround the spine.

This can lead to pain, stiffness and discomfort in the lower back over time. Sometimes a firm office chair can provide a more stable base and help maintain a neutral sitting position. This does not mean that a hard chair is healthier than all gaming chairs, but that the right firmness and support might be better than too much padding that allows the body to sink.

The position of the lower back is especially important. The chair should curve to fit the natural curve of the lower back. Feet should be comfortably on the floor and hips and knees should be in a comfortable position. A bad sitting posture can also affect the neck and shoulders. If the monitor is placed too low, the head will move forward and downward. This may result in a stiff neck, shoulder pain and headaches over the following several hours.

Also read: Physiotherapy Day – Are Hourly Breaks Enough To Minimise Risks From Prolonged Sitting: Doctors Warn Office Workers

Why An Expensive Gaming Chair Cannot Fix Long Sitting

Another myth is that buying an expensive gaming chair automatically solves the problem of long sitting. A chair’s appropriateness is not dependent on the amount of cushioning. The height of the chair should correspond to the height of the person, the proportions of the body, the arrangement of the desk, and the daily activity.

More importantly, no chair can make long, uninterrupted sitting healthy. Those who work or game for several hours should get up regularly, walk a few minutes, stretch and change their sitting position.

Persistent back pain, numbness, tingling, weakness or pain traveling into the legs should not be simply put down to the chair and may require medical assessment. So, the healthiest chair may not be the softest or most expensive one. It’s the chair that gives good support, allows natural movement and doesn’t leave one in one position for too long.

By Dr. Mohit Muttha, Consultant Spine Surgeon, Manipal Hospital Kharadi

Millions of office workers spend eight to 10 hours at a desk on a regular basis. While sitting in one place may seem harmless, staying in the same position for prolonged periods can gradually affect muscles, joints, mobility and even metabolic health. Those are some of the reasons why experts call "sitting the new smoking".

Physiotherapists agree that the problem is not just 'bad posture'. The bigger concern is spending too much time without changing positions or moving your body.

HealthandMe spoke to Dr. Swapnil Keny, Consultant Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement, Fortis Hospital, Kalyan and Dr. Preeti Tare, Physiotherapist, P. D. Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Khar about what office workers need to do to minimise the risks from sitting for prolonged periods.

Effects Of Prolonged Sitting

Dr. Swapnil Keny explains, "When sitting at a place becomes uninterrupted and constant posture, it builds pressure on the muscles of the neck, shoulders, back, and hips. The hip flexor muscles may become tight, and the glutes muscles along with other postural muscles may become inactive. The effects are not limited to the spine: prolonged sedentary behaviour is also associated with poorer metabolic and cardiovascular health."

Dr. Preeti Tare similarly points out that the earliest consequence may simply be a reduction in movement rather than an obvious injury.

Dr. Tare says, “The first change I notice is usually not an injury, but reduced movement. The hip and ankle joints spend hours in limited positions, while the glutes, deep abdominal muscles and upper-back muscles contribute less. The neck and shoulders compensate, especially when we lean towards a screen. Over time, this can reduce joint mobility, muscle endurance, and tolerance for everyday movement. Prolonged sitting can also affect blood circulation and metabolic health, so the impact goes well beyond back pain.”

Also read: That 3 PM Energy Crash May Be More Than Work Stress: Are You Missing Key Nutrients?

One Habit Experts Want Office Workers To Change

If there is one change office workers should make, both experts agree that it is to stop sitting continuously for hours.

“I would ask office workers to stop sitting continuously for hours. Set a reminder to stand up, walk a little or change position regularly. This simple habit reduces the time the same muscles and joints remain under static load. It is more useful than trying to maintain a “perfect” posture all day,” says Dr. Keny.

Dr. Tare recommends being even more proactive rather than waiting for discomfort to appear. She says do not wait for symptoms to appear. From time to time, make it a habit to get up and move around consciously.

These small changes, like walking to speak to a colleague instead of sending a message, standing during a phone call or taking the longer route to refill a water bottle, can help break up prolonged periods of inactivity and alleviate risks.

She says, “Break up sitting before your body starts complaining. Don’t wait for back pain or stiffness to remind you. Every 30–45 minutes, get up, walk to refill your water, speak to a colleague, or simply move around for a couple of minutes. From a physiotherapy perspective, frequent movement is important because tissues respond better to changing loads than to staying in one position for hours. The best posture is ultimately your next posture.”

Also read: World Physiotherapy Day - Beyond Surgery: Why Physiotherapy Decides How Well You Really Heal

Is An Hourly Break Really Enough?

One of the most important points office workers must remember is that moving around once every hour is bare minimum. It should also not become an excuse for remaining inactive for the rest of the day.

“Hourly breaks are a good starting point, but they are not a complete solution. The total amount of movement across the day matters too. A few minutes of walking every hour cannot fully replace regular exercise, walking during breaks and an active commute. Think of movement as a daily habit, not just a reminder on the computer,” says Dr. Keny.

Dr. Tare agrees that movement breaks and overall physical activity play different roles. In other words, the goal should be to reduce sedentary time while also building regular physical activity into the day.

“Both matter, but they serve different purposes. Short movement breaks interrupt the long, uninterrupted periods of sitting, while your overall daily activity builds strength, endurance and cardiovascular fitness. Someone who gets up every hour but remains inactive outside work is still largely sedentary. I encourage patients to think in layers: break up sitting during work, walk whenever possible, and include structured exercise during the week. No single movement break can compensate for an otherwise inactive day.”

Routine Movement For Desk Workers

Office workers do not necessarily need elaborate exercises between meetings. Instead, experts recommend weaving frequent movements throughout the existing workday.

“It is good practice to sit and stand alternatively and walk while on calls wherever feasible, throughout the day. Add a few gentle exercises such as shoulder rolls, neck movements, hip stretches and repeated sit-to-stand movements. Outside work, aim for regular walking and exercise. The idea is not to work out at your desk, but to maintain the movement of the body all the time,” says Dr. Keny.

Dr. Tare suggests a similar approach built around consistency rather than intensity. Desk workers need to stop treating movement as a separate activity.

Stand during calls, walk during breaks, change sitting positions, take regular short walks and incorporate simple movements throughout the workday.

“I prefer a routine that is realistic enough to follow every day. Alternate between sitting and standing, take a short walk every 30–45 minutes and use phone calls as opportunities to move. Twice or three times during the day, do a few sit-to-stands, shoulder movements, gentle spinal rotations and calf raises. Walk during your lunch break if possible. The aim isn't to turn your workstation into a gym; it is to prevent eight hours from becoming eight hours of almost no movement.”

A person's body mass index (BMI) may seem normal while they may already be at a significant metabolic risk. According to experts at the first AIIMS Obesity Summit in New Delhi, which is themed “Decoding Obesity: Biology to Remedy,” this is particularly observed frequently among South Asians.

Addressing the summit on Saturday, AIIMS Director Dr Nikhil Tandon said obesity cannot be understood simply through numbers. He argued that doctors need to look beyond weight and BMI to understand where fat is distributed in the body and how the individual's overall health is affected due to the additional fat.

“People will say, you know, subcutaneous is all right, visceral is bad,” Tandon said, referring to the difference between fat stored under the skin and fat accumulated around internal organs. He said that while measures like waist circumference remain essential, they do not fully capture the complete complexity of obesity.

South Asians Face Higher Metabolic Risk Even At Lower BMI

Tandon spoke about how South Asians can develop metabolic issues at lower BMI levels because of differences in fat distribution in the body. “A lot of people of South Asian descent may not qualify as people who are obese, but because of central disposition of fat, they can have metabolic, maybe metabolically unhealthy at very, very low BMIs,” he said.

He compared the body types and prevalence of lifestyle disorders in South Asians and Pima Indians, mentioning that South Asians showed a substantially higher incidence of diabetes at lower BMI levels. He said that obesity should not be assessed solely by what we see on the weighing scale.

“If at similar numbers, two people have very different health outcomes, then you have to understand the reason for the difference in health outcomes rather than be fixated in the number,” Tandon said.

Also read: Thin Outside, Fat Inside: Why A Slim Body May Still Hide Metabolic Health Risks?

Obesity Does Not Occur Due To Willpower Issue

The summit's discussions also challenged the idea that obesity can be managed by just eating less and exercising more.

Prof Naveet Wig, patron of the summit, shared his own experience of repeatedly gaining and losing weight, explaining that his experience had reinforced the complexity of obesity.

“It is a relapsing disease. It is a relapsing problem. It is a chronic problem,” he said, adding that obesity involves multiple factors including genetics, environment, behaviour, sleep, muscle, adipose tissue, the gut and the brain.

He also cautioned against using medication like GLP-1 as many may turn it into a substitute for comprehensive obesity care. “We can't let drug become a doctor,” Wig said, stressing the importance of nutrition, exercise, sleep and preservation of muscle mass.

He noted that modern obesity care now includes GLP-1 therapies, including oral options, as well as surgical treatments. He questioned whether enough attention is being paid to nutrition, muscle preservation and sleep when these treatments are used.

Also read: Can You Really Lose 5 Kg In A Week With Just 4 Minutes Of Exercise? Japan's Viral Workout Explained

Prevention May Need To Start Much Earlier

Tandon also stressed that obesity prevention cannot begin late in adulthood. He explained that body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose tend to follow patterns established early in life. Major changes in these trajectories could be due to underlying influences that need to be addressed.

“You don't go to sleep at night with a BMI of 23 and wake up with a BMI of 30,” he said, explaining that obesity as a process that develops over time.

He argued that eating habits, physical activity and other behavioural patterns become established early, making childhood and early-life interventions particularly important.

Ultimately, Tandon said, preventing weight gain in the first place may be easier than trying to reverse obesity later.

“Once you become obese, it's incredibly difficult to lose weight. And once you lose weight, it's incredibly difficult to sustain that weight loss,” he said.

The experts say that obesity treatment should focus not simply on making patients lighter, but on making them healthier by paying attention to metabolic health, fitness, nutrition, muscle mass, sleep and long-term sustainability.