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Spending less time sitting and moving more often could help older people lower their blood pressure, according to an American study. This solution would be just as effective as increasing physical activity, and easier to implement for seniors.
According to a new study led by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), reducing the time spent sitting by at least thirty minutes per day could help improve blood pressure in seniors. The results, published in the journal Jama Networkwould be comparable to those obtained in previous studies by having participants do more exercises.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers followed for six months 283 people aged 60 to 89, overweight or obese, who reported sitting for more than 6 hours a day. At the start of the study, more than half had high blood pressure, more than a quarter had diabetes, and almost two-thirds were taking at least one medication to lower blood pressure.
The researchers divided the participants into two groups. The first, the intervention group, was followed by a sports coach, who gave them advice to improve their lifestyle and reduce sedentary behavior. People in this group received a fitness tracker and a standing desk. The second group, the control group, was also entitled to a health coach, but only to set healthy lifestyle goals, and not to practice physical activity or become less sedentary.
At the end of six months of observation, the researchers found that the members of the first group had sat, on average, 31 minutes less per day than the control group. They also had nearly 3.5 mm Hg lower blood pressure, “which is comparable to reductions of 4 mmHg seen in studies of increasing physical activity and 3 mmHg in studies of increasing physical activity.” weight loss,” the study says.
“Our results are very promising because sitting less is a change that may be easier for people than increasing physical activity, especially for older adults who are more likely to live with restrictions such as chronic pain or reduced physical capacity” said Dori Rosenberg, lead author of the study and a researcher at KPWHRI, in a Press release.
Older people typically sit for between 65% and 80% of their waking hours, the study said. Such sedentary behavior can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers now want to deepen their research to determine which solution had the most impact on the results obtained. “We are not sure which element of the intervention had the most impact“, said Dori Rosenberg. “Do people need a desk, an activity tracker and ten coaching sessions to successfully change their sitting time? Or can they achieve this with one or two elements of this program? It will be helpful to know a little more as we look for the best way to implement this in a healthcare environment where resources may be limited“.
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