Wellday At Work - Heart Disease

Health Hazards of Sitting

carolynespel — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 19:01:30 +0000

Research Content:

Berkowitz, B., & Clark, P. (20 January, 2014). The health hazards of sitting. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/the-health-hazards-of-sit....

A compilation of findings resulted in an informative infografic that can be found at http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/the-health-hazards-of-sitting/750/. People who sit LESS frequently are more likely to experience:

Strong cardiovascular systems
Appropriate pancreas and insulin functioning
Anti-oxidants for cancer prevention
Muscle tone and strength
Mental clarity
Healthy, mobile back, shoulders, and neck

Research Topic:

Heart Disease

Importance of Breaks

Chronic Disease and Sitting

Mood Management

Sitting and Leg Functioning

Sitting and Heart Failure

carolynespel — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 18:49:21 +0000

Research Content:

Yount., R.D., Reynolds, K., Sidell, M., …& Quinn, V.P. (2014). Effects of physical activity and sedentary time on the risk of heart failure. Circulation: Heart Failure, 7, 21-27. Doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.113.000529.

Aim. Identify effect of sedentary behavior and physical activity on heart failure.

Method. 82,695 men (mean age=58 years) without diagnosed heart failure reported physical activity and sedentary behavior for ten years. Incidence of heart failure was measured based on medical records.

Results. The most active men were 52% less likely to develop heart failure than the least active. Moderately active men were also less likely to experience heart failure than the least active. Similarly, less sedentary time is associated with the lowest risk for heart failure. These effects occur beyond common risk factors like diet and BMI, and were consistent across ethnicities.

Conclusion. More physical activity and less time sitting are associated with decreased risk for heart failure.

Research Topic:

Detriments of Sitting

Heart Disease

Short Breaks, Glucose, Insulin, and Heart Disease

carolynespel — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:21:04 +0000

Research Content:

Dunstan, D.W., Kingwell, B.A., Larsen, R., Healy, G.N., Cerin, E., Hamilton, M.T.,… Owen, N. (2012). Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses. Diabetes Care, 35, 976-983.

Aim. Dunstan and colleagues (2012) aimed to explain why taking short breaks from sitting is beneficial to glucose and insulin processing.

Method. Nineteen adults ages 45-65 completed three five-hour study sessions where they were asked to either a) sit uninterrupted, b) sit with hourly 2-minute light walking breaks, or c) sit with hourly 2-minute moderate intensity walking breaks. They were given a test drink with controlled glucose and fat levels. Glucose and insulin responses were measured hourly in response to the drink.

Results. Beyond effects of age, sex, and weight, participants had lower glucose and insulin levels if they took activity breaks versus no breaks.

Conclusion. Consistent with hypotheses, this study suggests that taking regular short breaks from sitting throughout the day reduces spikes in glucose and insulin after meals. Long-term, breaks may lower risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Research Topic:

Importance of Breaks

Detriments of Sitting

Heart Disease

Slow Breathing and Stress

carolynespel — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 23:46:10 +0000

Research Content:

Slow Breathing and Stress

Pramanic, T., Sharma, H.O., Mishra, S., Mishra, A., Prajapati, R., & Singh, S. (2009). Immediate effect of slow pace Bhastrika Pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15, 293-295. Doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0440.

Aim. Examine the effect of bhastrika pranayama, a slow yoga breathing practice, on immediate heart rate.

Method. Thirty-nine healthy adults were asked to breathe slowly (as trained) for 5 minutes. Blood pressure was measured before and after. 10 other healthy adults were asked to do the same exercise, however they first took hyoscine-N-butylmromide (Buscopan; blocks parasympathetic nervous system).

Results. The breathing practice reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure (when subjects didn’t take Buscopan).

Conclusion. Conscious slow breathing practices may stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, decreasing blood pressure. Slow breathing may have implications for immediate stress reduction and relaxation.

Research Topic:

Benefits of Breathing

Heart Disease

Relaxation and Stress Management

Detriments of Sitting

carolynespel — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:08:24 +0000

Research Content:

Patel, A.V., Bernstein, L., Deka, A., Spencer Feigelson, H., Campbell, P.T., Gapstur, S.M.,… Thun, M.J. (2011). Leisure time spent sitting in relation to total mortality in a prospective cohort of US adults, American Journal of Epidemiology, 172, 419-429. Doi: 10.1093/aje/kwq155.

Aim. This study aimed to identify the association between hours of sitting and mortality rate.

Method. Participants were 123,216 individuals (69,776 women; mean age= 63.8 (SD=6) years) from a CPS-II Nutrition Cohort study directed by the American Cancer Society. Hours/ week of leisure-time sitting (not including work), total non-work physical activity, and all-cause mortality rates were recorded.

Results. Mortality rates were higher for individuals who spent more leisure time sitting (<3 versus > 6 hours/day), particularly for females. This effect occurs beyond the effect of physical exercise. Additionally, sitting time was associated with mortality due to cardiovascular disease (men & women), and cancer (women only). Finally, physical activity was also independently associated with all-cause mortality.

Conclusion. With the benefit of a large sample, this study suggests that short bouts of standing activity throughout the day (i.e., not sitting!) is likely associated with lower mortality rates.

Research Topic:

Detriments of Sitting

Heart Disease

Mortality and Sitting