Extended Time Spent Sitting Associated With Increased Risk of Heart Disease in Postmenopausal Women

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and the risk increases after the age of 50. A new study has found an association between extended amount of time spent sitting on a daily basis and an increase in risk factors associated with heart disease in postmenopausal women who are overweight or obese.

Participants in the study included 518 women with an average age of 63 who were overweight or obese. Participants were classified as Hispanic or non-Hispanic. They wore accelerometers on their right hip for 14 days to track sitting and physical activity. Blood samples were used to measure blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and triglyceride levels. BMI and waist circumferences were also measured.

The researchers found that non-Hispanic women sat on average more than 9 hours per day, compared to an average of 8.5 hours per day for Hispanic women. They found a negative association between longer time spent sitting and BMI, waist circumference, fasting blood sugar, insulin, insulin resistance, and triglycerides. Specifically, each additional hour spent sitting per day was associated with a 1.56% higher BMI, a 1.71% higher waist circumference, a 7% increase in fasting insulin, and a 7.27% increase in insulin resistance.

The study was conducted by researchers from UC San Diego. It was published online ahead of print on February 17, 2020 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.