An “easy” change that can have real effects on blood pressure figures, according to this study published in the prestigious Jama.
In France, more than a third of adults have a sedentary lifestyle and insufficient physical activity. These people have higher mortality and morbidity rates according to theHandles. An American study from the Kaiser Permanente healthcare network wanted to demonstrate the benefits of physical activity, even minimal, as we age. Particularly on blood pressure. “Strong evidence from epidemiological studies links sedentary behavior to adverse health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor physical function, and mortality.” underlined its authors in the introduction. Before recalling that “the prevalence of hypertension (very dangerous for the heart, editor’s note) is greater than 74% among adults over 60.”
Their clinical trial was carried out on a group of 283 people aged 60 to 89, obese, followed from January 1, 2019 to November 31, 2022, i.e. 4 years. Participants received a standing desk, an activity tracker and 10 health coaching sessions to reduce their sitting. A second group serving as a “control” also had health coaching to define general healthy living goals, excluding physical activity or sedentary behavior. The researchers then compared the results of the two groups and analyzed the time the subjects spent standing or sitting as well as their systolic (higher value) and diastolic (lower value) blood pressure.
According to the results published in the journal Jama Network Openthe coaching of the first group made it possible to reduce their time spent sitting by 30 minutes per day and to improve systolic blood pressure by 3.5 mm Hg. According to the researchers, sitting less time and therefore longer Standing could improve blood flow in the arteries and thus benefit blood pressure and the heart. “Our results are really promising because decreasing sitting time 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 function”, said Dori Rosenberg, lead author of the study. In France, 17 million people are affected by high blood pressure and among them 6 million are unaware of their disease.