In today’s era, children often spend more time sitting rather than engaging in physical activities but this habit has proven to be detrimental to heart health during youth. This revelation emerged from a medical study conducted in the United Kingdom.
Research from Bristol University revealed that children who spend prolonged periods sitting are at risk of early heart damage during their youth.
According to the study, the more time children spend sitting during childhood, the greater the risk of heart diseases in adolescence.
It is noteworthy that heart diseases are the leading cause of deaths worldwide. The term heart disease encompasses various conditions including heart attacks, irregular heartbeats or damage to different parts of the heart.
It is commonly believed that heart diseases primarily occur in old age or at least in middle age.
However, recent years have seen a significant increase in the rate of heart diseases among young individuals.
The study conducted by researchers sheds light on one important factor contributing to the prevalence of heart diseases among young people.
In this study 1,682 children from the 1990s were included and their health was assessed until the age of 24.
The results indicated that spending 9 hours or more sitting throughout the day increases the risk of an increase in heart volume by up to 40% during youth.
An increase in heart volume poses a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and premature death.
Researchers have discovered that as sitting time increases, the risk of obesity or high blood pressure also increases.
However, engaging in light physical activities throughout the day such as walking or playing with friends for at least 4 hours can reverse this risk.
According to researchers, evidence has shown that spending excessive time sitting during childhood has negative effects on heart health.
Therefore, it is essential to encourage physical activities among children.
The results of this study were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology highlighting the importance of addressing sedentary behaviour in childhood to promote heart health in youth.
