Non-medical ways for women to keep heart disease at bay

A new study has shown women who exercise have a drastically reduced risk of heart disease compared to those who sit for long periods.

Cutting sedentary time by just one hour a day decreased a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease by more than 10 percent and heart disease by more than 25 percent. 

Previous studies have shown that switching out sitting with physical activity reduces the risk of several illnesses including kidney disease, lung disease, liver disease, Alzheimer’s and even cancer.

'Cutting sedentary time by just one hour a day decreased a woman's risk of cardiovascular disease by more than 10 per cent and heart disease by more than 25 per cent.'. /DAILY MAIL

  

But the team, led by the University of California, San Diego, says its study is the first to look at whether long periods of sitting raises the risk of cardiovascular disease.  

For the study, published in Circulation, the team looked at more than 5,600 women who were between ages 63 and 97 and had not suffered a stroke or heart attack in the past.

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The women wore accelerators, which measures movement or lack thereof, on their hips for nearly 24 hours a day.

Their physical activity was tracked for four to seven days and their cardiovascular health was monitored for nearly five years.

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Researchers found that for each additional hour per day spent not sitting, women had a 12 percent decreased risk for cardiovascular disease and a 26 percent lowered risk for heart disease. 

Women who sat the most – 11 hours or more a day – were more likely to be white, have the highest BMIs and have health problems such as diabetes or hypertension, than the women who spent the least amount of time sitting.

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They also found that women who sat for long, uninterrupted periods of time had a 52 percent higher risk of heart disease than women who sat for the same amount of time but in short, interrupted periods.

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The researchers say the risk can easily be reduced by engaging in any type of physical activity, even just for a minute or two.

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