Heart Health
Replacing sitting with any other activity may enhance heart health
Research we're watching
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
Moving, standing, or even sleeping are all better for your weight, waistline, and heart than sitting, a new analysis suggests.
The study, published online Nov. 10, 2023, by the European Heart Journal, included data from six earlier studies involving more than 15,000 people in five countries (average age 54, 55% women). Participants wore a device that measured their daily activity. They also underwent measures of heart health, including body mass index, waist size, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and blood sugar.
Researchers used mathematical models to determine the health effects if participants swapped various amounts of one behavior with another each day for a week. The models indicate that replacing four to 13 minutes of sitting with moderate-to-vigorous activity (such as climbing stairs or walking briskly) would improve heart health markers the most. But even shorter bursts of walking, standing, and sleeping were also associated with better measures of heart health than sitting. The findings suggest that people can improve their heart health, even marginally, by replacing sitting with virtually any other activity, the study authors said.
Image: © Oscar Wong /Getty Images
About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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