Sitting at home or at work: Which is worse for heart health?
New research has found that not all forms of sedentariness are the same when it comes how each of them put heart health at risk. We already know that a sedentary lifestyle, which is when a person sits down for long periods of time daily and gets little exercise, is bad for health in general and heart health in particular.
However, in a new study, researchers from the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City, NY, have found that there is a difference between sitting at work (occupational sitting) and sitting at home, watching TV (leisure time sitting).
The researchers worked specifically with a cohort of African American people, aiming to fill a gap in the research to date, which has main focused on white Europeans. Despite of that, they believe that regardless of the specificity of the study cohort, the findings could apply to everyone, regardless of ethnicity.
The investigation revealed a different between a person spends sitting on the couch at home, watching TV, is much more likely to increase their risk of heart problems than the time they spend sitting at work.
“Our findings show that how you spend your time outside of work may matter more when it comes to heart health,” explains study author Keith Diaz, Ph.D.
The solution to this problem may be to spend more time being not just active, but intensely active, the researcher notes.
“Even if you have a job that requires you to sit for long periods of time, replacing the time you spend sitting at home with strenuous exercise could reduce your risk of heart disease and death,” says Diaz.
Chilling on the couch raises risk by half
The researchers analyzed data for a cohort of 3,592 participants who had enrolled in the Jackson Heart Study, a community-based study focused on the causes of cardiovascular, renal, and respiratory diseases among African Americans.
All of the participants lived in Jackson, MS, and the health and lifestyle data available about them covered a period of 8.5 years. The information detailed the amount of time the participants spent sitting at work, the amount of time they spent watching TV versus exercising in their spare time.
Diaz and team discovered that people who reported sitting and watching TV for 4 or more hours each day had a 50% higher risk of cardiovascular problems and premature death compared with individuals who sat in front of the television for 2 hours or less per day.
On the other hand, 50% higher risk of cardiovascular problems and premature death did not apply when the hours of sitting took place at work. Participants who sat for extended periods in the office did not have a higher cardiovascular risk than those who spent little time sitting at work.
The solution to this issue suggests by the researchers is to replace some TV downtime with moderate to vigorous exercise could counteract the increase in cardiovascular risk. In fact, they noted that individuals who sat watching TV for 4 or more hours each day but also did 150 minutes or more of exercise per week did not have a heightened risk of heart health issues or premature death.
More Informations: Praram 9 Cardiovascular Institute
