Sitting for too long and being inactive has been known for sometime to raise heart disease risk. But now research is finding that it also hikes the risk of heart failure — even in active men.
Researchers followed a racially diverse group of 84,170 men ages 45 to 69 who did not suffer from heart failure at the beginning of the study.
After eight years, they reported the following data in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure:
- Men with low levels of physical activity were 52 percent more likely to develop heart failure than very active men.
- Men who spent five or more hours sitting (outside of work) were 34 percent more likely to develop heart failure than men who spent no more than two hours a day sitting no matter how much they exercised.
- Men who spent more than 5 hours sitting (outside of work) were 34% more likely to develop heart failure.
- Sitting at least five hours a day doubled heart failure risk in inactive men.
Although no women were included in the study, a Cornell University study reported earlier this year found that older women who sat for 11 hours a day were 12 percent more likely to die than their peers who spent four hours sitting or less.
This study also found the women were 27 percent more likely to die from coronary heart disease, 21 percent more likely to develop cancer and 13 percent more likely to get cardiovascular disease. This held true even if the women were physically active.
Older woman who sat for more than 11 hours a day were 27% more likely to die from heart disease.
The message is clear: Whether you are a man or a woman, get up and move; too much sitting can kill you.