A new study, reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, suggests
that one reason being sedentary is so bad for our health, is because it
hastens the “hardening” of our arteries with calcified deposits.
The
team analyzed data on more than 2,000, middle-aged (with an average age
of 50) volunteers in the Dallas Heart Study, who had measures of
physical activity based on wearable tracking devices. They were also
given coronary artery calcium scans before they began.
The
researchers found that each additional hour of sedentary time was linked
to 12 percent higher odds of having calcium buildup in the coronary
arteries, an early sign of coronary heart disease. Those in the study
spent between one hour and 11 hours per day being sedentary, and spent
between zero and 200 minutes a day doing moderate to vigorous physical
activity.
The volunteers who were the
most sedentary tended to be older, have diabetes, have high blood
pressure, and a higher body mass index- they were also more likely to
have coronary calcium. From Reuters, “This is one of the first studies
to help tease out the ways in which sedentary time relates to heart
disease risk, by evaluating this early marker of atherosclerosis in the
heart arteries,” said study coauthor Julia Kozlitina of the University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.”
After
they accounted for age, they were able to link extra hours of sedentary
time to a higher risk of coronary artery calcium. However, the authors
of the study were quick to point out that a weeks worth of physical
activity monitoring isn’t the best representative of a lifetime of
exercise habits and that ultimately, being sedentary and accumulated
coronary artery calcium are only linked, not absolutes.
The
researchers hope that future studies will look at just how much time is
needed away to be most beneficial.
But, maintaining a healthy diet, not
smoking and light or moderate drinking will also help prevent
cardiovascular disease.
HealthFreedoms
Source(s):
healthnutnews.com
medicaldaily.com
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