Inactivity Can Increase The Risks Of Heart Disease, Experts Warn

The American Heart Society has released a statement saying that they have gathered evidence to prove that sitting for too long can cause heart disease and diabetes, even in people who have exercise.

"Regardless of how much physical activity someone gets, prolonged sedentary time could negatively impact the health of your heart and blood vessels," said Deborah Rohm Young, Ph.D., director of behavioral research at Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena and chair of the new scientific statement published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Eurekalert reported that the statement was released to basically inform the public that having a sedentary behavior may be linked to an increased risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, impaired insulin sensitivity which can also be linked to diabetes and a generally higher risk of death from any cause.

"There are many important factors we don't understand about sedentary time yet. The types of studies available identify trends but don't prove cause and effect," said Young. "We don't have information about how much sedentary behavior is bad for health--the best advice at this time is to 'sit less and move more.'"

According to Reuters, results from national health surveys in the United States claim that adults usually spend an average of six to eight hours a day not doing anything or inactive. It was also revealed in the survey that people over the age of 60 spend an average of 10 hours a day being sedentary. The committee also mentioned that there could be different explanations why people are being inactive.

They said that evidence suggests that those with mental health issues usually spend a huge portion of their time being inactive. They also believe that genes also play a role as to why people are being sedentary. There is also evidence that not being active is a risk factor for a variety of health conditions, that it is advisable to take breaks from being inactive is a good way to protect health. Meanwhile, it was found that most studies about inactivity show a connection between time spent being sedentary and an increased risk of developing diabetes, while there are other studies linking sedentary lifestyle and heart disease, NBC News reported.

A European study found that for every hour a person is inactive and watching TV, there is an increased risk of fatal and nonfatal heart disease by about 6 percent. The succeeding hour of being inactive was also related to an 8 percent increased risk of having a coronary heart disease including a plaque buildup in the arteries.

The authors also suggested that Americans try hard for at least 30 minutes or so of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day to achieve the American Heart Association's weekly recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. However, instead of grouping all exercises into one or two days, the goal is to encourage more consistent activity, Young said.