Researchers studying the impact that daily life movement has on the risk of cardiovascular disease suggest that brisk walking or running isn’t the only way to reduce heart disease risk. Just being “up and about” carrying out routine activities, known as daily life movement, which includes cooking, gardening, housework, and self-care activities such as showering can be of significant benefit to cardiovascular health.1✅ JOURNAL REFERENCE
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.121.023433
In comparison to women with daily life movement of under 2 hours a day, those with a minimum of 4 daily life movement hours had a 43% reduced cardiovascular disease risk, a 43% reduced coronary heart disease risk, a 30% reduced stroke risk, and a 62% reduced cardiovascular disease death risk.
The results show that all movement matters toward the prevention of disease. More time spent in daily life movement, which includes a variety of activities that can be performed out of our chairs and on our feet can help reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
A machine-learning algorithm was used to categorize each waking minute into 1 of 5 actions: sitting still, sitting while in a vehicle, standing, daily life movement, and running or walking. Daily life movement includes activities happening while walking and standing in a patio or room, such as gardening, meal preparation, or dressing. The physical activity was measured of almost 5,416 women between the ages of 63 and 97 who didn’t have heart disease when the the study started.
An accelerometer of research grade was worn by the study participants for up to 7 days for getting precise measures of the amount of time spent moving and the kinds of typical daily life behaviors resulting in movement which aren’t often included in other studies of physical activity of light as well as moderate-to-vigorous intensities.
Those previous studies generally focused on the duration and intensity of activities such as brisk walking and running while this study focused on measuring smaller movements at various intensities while performing activities such as cooking.
Cardiovascular disease remains the primary cause of death for both men and women in the US with rates highest in individuals aged 65 or older. There were 616 cardiovascular disease diagnoses in this study, 268 women were diagnosed with coronary heart disease, 253 women suffered a stroke, and there were 331 cardiovascular disease-related deaths.
Want to use our images on your site? Right click on image for embed code
