If you spend a lot of time sitting on your couch, at your desk, or in your car, you might be putting your heart at risk. A new study has found that sedentary time may increase the size of your heart three times more than physical activity.
The study and its findings
The study was conducted by researchers from the UK and Finland, who analyzed data from 530 adolescents who wore accelerometers to measure their movement and had echocardiograms to assess their heart structure and function. The researchers found that:
On average, adolescents spent almost 8 hours per day sedentary and about 49 minutes per day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Both sedentary time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were associated with higher left ventricular mass, which indicates an enlarged or hypertrophied heart.
However, the increase in cardiac mass associated with sedentary time was three times higher than the cardiac mass increase associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Light physical activity was not associated with an increase in cardiac mass but was associated with better cardiac function.
The implications and recommendations
The researchers concluded that sedentary time may have a negative impact on cardiac health, especially in combination with reduced cardiac function. They suggested that decreasing sedentary time should be prioritized among adolescents, regardless of their obesity status. They also encouraged public health experts, policymakers, school administrators, pediatricians, and caregivers to facilitate adolescent participation in physical activity to enable a healthy heart.
The study was published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports and used data from the Children of the 90s study, a long-term health research project based at the University of Bristol.
The takeaway
If you want to keep your heart healthy and prevent future cardiovascular problems, you should move more and sit less. Physical activity has many benefits for your health and well-being, while sedentary behavior can harm your heart and increase your risk of disease. Try to limit your screen time, take breaks from sitting, and find ways to incorporate more movement into your daily routine.
Your heart will thank you for it.
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