Thank you captain obvious, but that's not what I'm saying. If your vocation involves sitting long hours you already "not taking care of your body" - humans evolved as hunter-gatherers, engaging in regular physical activity - walking, running, and foraging, not sitting all day long. Think about it - we are among a few species with horses, wolves, ostriches and dogs that can run for many miles in a single event - because we evolved to do that. Yet our ability to sit for extremely long durations is very unusual and not evolutionary advantageous. Imagine forcing a wolf to stay motionless and keep the eyes on the artificially lit up screen? The wolf will likely gets depression and dies within a year or two, if not sooner.
The human body is designed for movement, and sedentary behavior disrupts metabolic processes, affects posture, and almost unavoidably results in weakened muscles and bones.
Staring at screens for extended periods leads to digital eye strain - dryness, irritation, blurred vision, headaches. Prolonged screen time can also disrupt sleep patterns which affects melatonin production. Additionally, it too, contributes to poor posture and musculoskeletal issues, particularly in the neck and shoulders.
Typing for long hours leads to repetitive strain injuries - carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and muscle fatigue in the hands, wrists, and arms.
If you think you can undo decades of harm to your body by occasional exercise, well, I have bad news for you. If you think you can just hop around like a butterfly when you need to do something like setting up a Kafka cluster from scratch, which requires you to have a combination of technical skills and extended periods of sedentary work, screen time, and typing - something that can't be done "very quickly and only once," you're thinking of some other profession, not this. Extend that to five days a week, for many years - that's what's required - you'll find yourself primarily sitting, staring at the screen, and typing during most of your waking hours. This is a typical facet of a programmer's life.
Software development career WILL harm your body, and there are only limited things you can do about it, and only to the effect of mitigation - there's no magical cure, remedy, or escape.
