Sedentary Behavior Reduction Intervention Cuts Sitting Time, BP in Seniors

FRIDAY, March 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For older adults, a sedentary behavior reduction intervention reduces sitting time and improves blood pressure (BP), according to a study published online March 27 in JAMA Network Open.

Dori E. Rosenberg, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, and colleagues randomly assigned 283 adults aged 60 to 89 years with high sitting time and body mass index of 30 to 50 to a sitting reduction intervention or a healthy living attention control condition for six months (140 and 143 adults, respectively). The intervention group received 10 health coaching contacts, sitting reduction goals, and a standing desk and fitness tracker to prompt sitting breaks, while the attention control group received 10 health coaching contacts to set general healthy living goals.

The researchers found a reduction in sitting time, favoring the intervention arm, with a difference in the mean change of −31.44 and −31.85 minutes/day at three and six months, respectively. At six months, the systolic BP change was 3.48 mm Hg lower, favoring the intervention arm. Six serious adverse events were seen in each arm, none of which were related to the study.

“These changes led to meaningful reductions in BP,” the authors write. “Interventions that result in less sitting and more standing breaks deserve further study because they could lead to improved cardiovascular outcomes.”

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