Hour on sofa raises risk of stroke by 14%

‘Get up during every advert’

EVERY hour on the sofa during the day could raise the risk of having a stroke by 14 per cent.

And sitting around for more than 17 minutes at a time in middle age could also make a stroke in later life more likely.

A study of more than 7,600 over-45s in the US used an activity tracker to judge the time they spent being sedentary over seven days.

These people were followed up for an average of seven years, over which period 286 people had a stroke.

Researchers found the most sedentary people were 44 per cent more likely to have a stroke compared with those who moved around more.

Every extra hour being still was linked to a 14 per cent greater likelihood of a stroke.

Importantly the research adds to evidence that getting up and moving around, rather than sitting for too long, is vital for health.

People who were sedentary for 17 minutes at a time or longer had a 54 per cent higher risk of a stroke. This was compared with people who were sedentary for less than eight minutes at a time.

Dr Steven Hooker, who led the study from San Diego State University, said: ‘The advice from these findings is to get up and move around every so often when you’re sitting down, so you can benefit from physical activity and improve health. We your are blood increasingly vessel realising breaking up sitting periods, so that people move more and sit less, is important. It could mean getting up during every advert break during a television programme, for example.’ Researchers looked at peocal ple from a previous study, whose daily physical activity was measured using a hipworn activity tracker between 2009 and 2013.

These study participants were split into three groups based on their light physical activity – such as vacuuming or making a cup of tea – and moderate to vigorous physiactivity – such as cycling and brisk walking.

They were also split into three groups for their sedentary behaviour. The most sedentary people were those who spent more than 13 hours of a 16-hour day sitting, lying around or engaging in minimal movement.

Compared to the least sedentary, who spent less than 11 hours doing this, the most sedentary were 44 per cent more likely to have a stroke.

For every hour a day of light physical activity, people’s likelihood of a stroke was found to fall by 14 per cent.

But researchers point out an unusually high amount of light activity is needed, with four and a half hours a day the level at which the reduction in stroke risk appears to become significant.

The study also compared people getting less than 2.7 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity with those who did at least 14 minutes a day on average.

Those with the highest level of this type of exercise were 43 per cent less likely to end up having a stroke.

The study authors found there was a link between stroke risk and sedentary behaviour even when other factors were taken into account – such as blood pressure, age and obesity.

Moving around and getting exercise can help increase blood flow and reduce the chances of a blood clot developing – one of the leading causes of strokes. Around 100,000 people have strokes every year in the UK.

The findings were published in the medical journal Jama Network Open.