The research followed 2,513 participants from the University of Bristol's Children of the 90s cohort, monitoring them from age 11 to 24. Initially, children averaged six hours of sedentary time daily, matched by six hours of LPA and about 55 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). By young adulthood, the sedentary time increased to nine hours, with LPA dropping to three hours and MVPA slightly reduced to 50 minutes per day.
Blood pressure, which averaged 106/56 mmHg in childhood, rose to 117/67 mmHg by age 24, largely due to natural development. Increased sedentary time was linked to an average 4 mmHg rise in systolic pressure, whereas participation in LPA lowered it by 3 mmHg. Interestingly, MVPA did not contribute to lowering blood pressure.
"Furthermore, when 10 minutes out of every hour spent sedentary was replaced with an equal amount of LPA from childhood through young adulthood in a simulation model, systolic blood pressure decreased by 3 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 2 mmHg. This is significant, as it has been reported in adults that a systolic blood pressure reduction of 5 mmHg decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke by ten percent," said Dr. Andrew Agbaje, an associate professor at the University of Eastern Finland.
This extensive study is the longest follow-up of accelerometer-measured physical activity and blood pressure among youth worldwide. It accounted for various factors, including socio-economic status, cardiovascular family history, smoking habits, body composition, and metabolic markers.
Dr. Agbaje emphasized, "We have earlier shown that elevated blood pressure and hypertension in adolescence increase the risk of premature cardiac damage in young adulthood. The identification of childhood sedentariness as a potential cause of elevated blood pressure and hypertension with LPA as an effective antidote is of clinical and public health significance."
The study also shed light on why MVPA-focused trials have not reduced blood pressure in youth. "An MVPA-induced increase in muscle mass enhanced a physiologic increase in blood pressure, explaining why earlier MVPA-based randomised clinical trials were unsuccessful," he noted.
With the World Health Organization projecting 500 million new cases of inactivity-related non-communicable diseases by 2030, half of which could be linked to hypertension, Dr. Agbaje advocates for at least three hours of LPA daily. "Examples of LPA are long walks, house chores, swimming, and bicycling. We all, parents, paediatricians and policymakers included, should encourage children and adolescents to participate in LPA to keep their blood pressure in a healthy range," he concluded.
Research Report:Lean Mass Longitudinally Confounds Sedentary Time and Physical Activity With Blood Pressure Progression in 2513 Children
Related Links
University of Eastern Finland
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
