Sedentary lifestyle ups risk for premature mortality and CV events
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A study of more than 100,000 adults in 21 countries found that being sedentary for more than 8 hours each day is dangerous to your health.
In fact, sitting more than 8 hours a day was linked to a higher risk of:
- all-cause mortality and
- cardiovascular (CV) events such as
- myocardial infarction (heart attack),
- stroke,
- heart failure and
- cardiovascular death.
The research was published in JAMA Cardiology. Read more from Medscape here.
In a related story, MedPage Today reported, “People who fit in roughly half an hour of exercise a day tended to be at lower risk of stroke.” The investigators published their findings in JAMA Network Open.
The study revealed that “based on accelerometer measurements, the most sedentary individuals in the REGARDS study cohort carried a 44% increased risk for stroke that approached statistical significance.”
Furthermore, “for every hour of inactivity, the risk for stroke rose in a linear fashion.”
“Our results add to a growing amount of scientific evidence demonstrating the health hazards of prolonged sitting,” said one of the study coauthors, Keith Diaz, PhD, an exercise physiologist at Columbia University in New York City.
“We can now add stroke to the growing list of health conditions that prolonged sitting can increase the risk for, which also includes cancer, heart disease, and early death.”
“If you have a job or lifestyle where you sit for most of your day, we recommend taking movement breaks often,” he told MedPage Today.
“This one behavior could reduce your risk of stroke.”
You can learn more about overcoming the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle (or what some call, “Sitting Disease”) in my books, Fit over 50: Make Simple Choices for a Healthier, Happier You or 10 Essentials of Highly Healthy People.
© Copyright WLL, INC. 2022. This blog provides healthcare tips and advice that you can trust about a wide variety of general health information only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from your regular physician. If you are concerned about your health, take what you learn from this blog and meet with your personal doctor to discuss your concerns.
