If you’re a man over the age of 40, your risk of heart failure increases–especially if you’re obese and don’t exercise.
But if you’re planning to pick up exercise as a way to combat this risk, think again: Researchers say you still face a higher risk of heart failure if you still spend most of your day sitting down.
The research is published in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.
“In this diverse cohort of middle-aged and older men, low physical activity and high sedentary time each contributed to increased HR [heart failure] risk,” say researchers. “Our results strengthen the developing position that too much sitting is detrimental to cardiovascular health, independent of regular physical activity. The trends were consistent across most race/ethnicities, BMI categories, and hypertension status.”
Led by Deobrah Rohm Young, a Kaiser Permanente senior scientist, researchers collected data on 84,170 men who had previously participated in the California Men’s Health Study, a study which evaluated the health of men of multiple races in California. From there, they narrowed their search down to men between the ages of 45 to 69, who did not have heart failure at the beginning of the study.
But after 8 years, 3,473 participants did develop heart failure, which interested Young. She decided to see if a sedentary lifestyle increased their risk, even if they exercised–and came across some surprising results.
Regardless of how much the men exercised, those who spent at least 5 hours of their day being sedentary–such as sitting in front of a desk–were 34 percent more likely to develop heart failure. Those who completely skipped exercise in lieu of a sedentary lifestyle however faced the highest risk: They were twice as likely to develop it.
“Others have found that prolonged sedentary behavior increases risk for cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality after controlling for physical activity,” say researchers. “Low physical activity is associated with higher blood pressure and unfavorable lipoprotein profile, glucose metabolism, and weight status. These increase the risk of CHD [coronary heart disease], thereby increasing the risk of HF [heart failure]. In addition, regular physical activity improves myocardial structure and function.”
So what do these results mean for you?
- Exercise still needs to be a priority. While exercise alone did not eliminate their heart failure risk, it cut it down significantly–from over 50 percent down to 34 percent.
- It’s just not good to stay sedentary. For those who work an office job, it may seem like being sedentary is a part of your job–but there are ways to get around it. For instance, getting up every hour to stretch to do a few exercises is a great way to add physical activity to your day-to-day job. Getting up to complete more tasks around the office is also another great way to stay active.
- Staying active becomes increasingly important during your middle age years. While a sedentary lifestyle isn’t likely to have an impact on someone who is young, your heart begins to slow down into middle age–and you need to do all you can to keep it healthy. The best way to do this is by staying active all day long.
Of course, exercise isn’t the only risk factor here too: If you’re eating a diet full of junk food and take-out for instance, this can do more damage than simply sitting in a chair all day.
Readers: How active are you during your work day?
Sources:
Study: Men Who Exercise But Sit For Long Periods Still Face Heart Failure Risk – AHAJournals.org
Sitting for 5 Hours a Day Increases Heart Failure Risk in Men – MedicalNewsToday.com
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