Research suggests that older adults who increase the amount of moderate activity from less than three minutes a day to at least 14 minutes could reduce their risk of stroke by more than 40%.
Being sedentary, whether sitting for long periods or not moving for long periods, has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and obesity, and the World Health Organization states that physical inactivity is one of the main causes of illness and disability.
Writing in the journal Jama Network Open, U.S. researchers reported how they analyzed data collected through activity trackers used for up to seven days by 7,607 participants over a period from 2009 to 2013.
“The results of this study suggest that more time spent being physically active, especially at moderate intensities, and less time spent being sedentary, especially over longer periods, may help reduce the risk of stroke. “, the authors said, although they warned that the extrapolation of specific results. for individuals it is more difficult.
Participants, who averaged just over 63 years, were followed for an average of 7.4 years, at which time 286 of them suffered a stroke.
The team’s analysis found that one-third of participants who managed at least 14 minutes a day had a 43% lower risk of stroke compared to one-third of participants who did less than 2.7 minutes of moderate exercise. to vigorous a day. This was the case once factors such as age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, heart condition, and time of sedentary lifestyle were taken into account.
The analysis also suggested that four to five hours a day of light-intensity activity could reduce the risk of stroke.
“It simply came to our notice then [that] It would probably take a deliberate effort, as most older adults don’t achieve as much, “said Dr. Steven Hooker, the first author of the study at San Diego State University.
Separately, the team added that the most inactive participants, who spent more than 13 of the 16 hours recorded per day being sedentary, had a 44% higher risk of stroke than those who spent less than 11 hours. 8 hours in this state.
“These results support recent clinical and public health guidelines that encourage people to move more and sit less to maintain cardiovascular health,” the team said.
However, the study had limitations, such as that only a maximum of seven days of data was collected for each participant.
Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow who did not participate in the study, warned that the study could slightly overestimate the benefit of linking activity levels to the risk of stroke, in part because people with minor previous strokes, often undetected, may be able to walk less.
But, he said, exercise is important. “There is no doubt that being more active reduces excess body fat and helps keep blood pressure at lower and healthier levels,” he said, adding that while any activity is good, exercise moderate to vigorous will offer more benefits for the time invested. “Because these two factors are strong risk factors for stroke, it follows that walking more and sitting less will protect your brain and heart.”