- Decreasing sitting time by as little as 30 minutes daily can lower blood pressure, according to a new study.
- Researchers say reducing sitting time was comparable to increasing physical activity and lowering blood pressure.
- They said that older adults typically sit 60% to 80% of their awake time.
Older adults might be able to lower their blood pressure by reducing sitting time, even by as little as 30 minutes per day.
That’s according to a
Kaiser Permanente officials said they created a program to see if sitting less could reduce blood pressure in older adults.
The research included 283 Kaiser Permanente members between 60 and 89 years of age who had a body mass index between 30 and 50.
The participants received:
- Ten health coaching sessions over six months
- A tabletop standing desk
- An activity tracker
The coaching sessions focused on setting goals for reducing sitting time. Participants completed most of the coaching sessions remotely.
A second group of participants also received health coaching. However, their goals focused on general health unrelated to standing or increasing activity.
The researchers reported that the study participants who received coaching sessions focused on sitting time reduced their inactivity levels by about 30 minutes a day.
The participants also lowered their blood pressure by almost 3.5 mmHg.
The researchers noted that the drop in blood pressure is comparable to a reduction of 4 mmHg found in studies examining increased physical activity as a way to lower blood pressure as well as an average decrease of 3 mmHg in weight loss studies.
According to the study authors, decreasing sitting time can improve overall health. Older adults typically sit between 65% and 80% of the time they are awake and sitting is associated with health risks such as heart disease and diabetes.
“I definitely recommend reducing sitting time for blood flow purposes from a cardiovascular…
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