Sitting too long during the day can damage the heart, even with a lot of exercise, experts warned.
Spending more than 10 and a half hours sitting, reclining or lying down during the day could increase the risk of dying from heart failure, heart attack or stroke, even if you do recommended levels of exercise, a study suggests.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed data from fitness trackers that captured seven days of movement from nearly 90,000 Britons.
Overall, sedentary time averaged about 9.4 hours per day. The team then tracked the participants’ heart health about eight years later.
The analysis revealed that the chances of dying from heart failure, heart attack or stroke during this period were minimal until a certain “threshold” of sedentary time was reached.
They found that the risk of dying from these causes increased significantly in people who sat, reclined or lay down for more than 10.6 hours a day.
And this was also the case for participants who met the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week.
Shaan Khurshid, co-senior author of the study, said: “Our findings support reducing sedentary time to reduce cardiovascular risk.”
They found that the risk of dying from heart attacks, strokes and heart disease increased significantly in people who sat, reclined or lay down for more than 10.6 hours a day.
‘10.6 hours a day marked a potentially key threshold linked to increased heart failure and cardiovascular mortality.
“Sitting or lying down too much can be detrimental to heart health, even for those who are active.”
The team said future public health guidelines should emphasize the importance of reducing sedentary time, advising people to avoid more than 10.6 hours per day.
The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) and presented at the American Heart Association’s 2024 Scientific Sessions.
In an accompanying commentary, Charles Eaton, chair of the department of family medicine at Brown University, said people tend to overestimate the amount of exercise they get and underestimate how long they stay sedentary.
He said replacing just 30 minutes of excessive sitting time each day with any type of physical activity can reduce heart health risks.
For example, adding moderate to vigorous activity reduces the risk of heart failure by 15 percent and death from heart attack or stroke by 10 percent.
And even light activity, such as a gentle walk, reduced the risk of heart failure by 6 percent and death from heart attack or stroke by 9 percent.
Harlan Krumholz, editor-in-chief of JACC, said: “This study adds to the growing evidence of a strong link between sedentary behavior and cardiovascular health.”
“The findings clearly suggest that we need to get people moving to promote better health.”