- The American Heart Association recommends that adults engage in at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week to maintain good health.
- Existing research indicates that a sedentary lifestyle can have a detrimental effect on overall health and raise the risk of mortality.
- Researchers from Soochow University found that non-coffee drinkers have higher all-cause mortality rates than coffee drinkers.
Part of a robust lifestyle is getting plenty of exercise every day. The American Heart Association recommends that adults
Previous research suggests that a sedentary lifestyle can have a detrimental effect on your overall health and raise your risk of several health conditions, including:
Constant inactivity is also associated with
Now, recent research recently published in the journal
Researchers from Soochow University in Suzhou, China, report that sitting for more than eight hours a day was associated with an increased risk of all-cause and heart disease death compared with sitting for less than four hours a day. However, people who drank the most coffee seemed to have a lower risk of death compared with people who drank no coffee.
In this study, researchers analyzed data from almost 10,700 participants
“In recent years, increased television viewing and computer operate, as well as less physically demanding work, have led people to become more sedentary in their daily lives.” Bingyan Li, Ph.D.professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene at the School of Public Health at the College of Medicine, Soochow University, Suzhou, China, and corresponding author of the study, said Medical News Today“Even if adults follow physical activity guidelines, sitting for long periods of time can be harmful
Sedentary lifestyles are emerging as potential determinants of adverse health outcomes, and sedentary lifestyles (behaviors) are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. And these adverse health outcomes impose a huge financial burden on the world.”
“However, coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, including among the US population, and growing evidence also suggests that regular coffee consumption may reduce morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases due to its powerful antioxidant properties.”
After analyzing the data, Li and her research team concluded that sitting for more than eight hours a day was associated with a higher risk of death from all-cause and cardiovascular disease compared with participants who sat for less than four hours a day.
Taking coffee consumption into account, the researchers found that participants who drank the most coffee had a lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death compared to those who did not drink coffee.
The researchers also reported that study participants who did not drink coffee but sat for six hours or more per day were about 1.6 times more likely to die from any cause than coffee drinkers who sat for less than six hours per day.
“One study found that prolonged and uninterrupted sitting appears to disrupt glucose metabolism and raise
“Sedentary behavior is a key and independent predictor of inflammation because it induces pro-inflammatory markers while reducing anti-inflammatory markers. In addition, previous studies have shown that sedentary behavior alters skeletal muscle metabolism, and each additional hour spent sitting or lying prone during waking hours,
After reviewing this study, Yu-Ming Ni, M.D.board-certified cardiologist and lipidologist at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, urges readers to approach the study results with a grain of salt.
“This is an association study, so we are trying to understand the relationship between coffee and cardiovascular disease,” Ni explained. MNT“But when you look at the associations, it’s difficult to tell whether the coffee is the reason why there’s a reduction in heart disease, or whether there’s some other thing that the person who drinks coffee is doing that’s reducing their cardiovascular mortality. So that’s probably the most significant takeaway from this.”
“I think it’s really significant that we recognize that lifestyle choices are the foundation of good health. The American Heart Association published
Essential 8 which are the eight lifestyle choices and treatments that are most associated with good health. And a very diminutive fraction of Americans follow all eight of them. So I think there’s always an opportunity to study behavior change and robust behaviors as a way to be robust, as a way to reduce the risk of heart disease. And coffee consumption is one of the behaviors that we’ve been studying for a long time.”
— Yu-Ming Ni, MD
MNT I also talked to Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDNregistered dietitian and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, about this study.
Richard said it’s significant to remember that many factors affect your ability to reap the potential benefits of consuming coffee, tea or any other beverage.
Looking at other aspects of coffee consumption that may support people counter the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle, Richard found that the caffeine in coffee may raise alertness by acting on the central nervous system, and may also have a beneficial effect on improving mood and well-being.
“It can provide mental clarity and focus,” she continued. “But there are also some downsides to consider. Some compounds in coffee, especially unfiltered coffee, can raise lipid levels, can cause anxiety, jitters, GERD, GI issues, heart palpitations, or increases in cardiometabolic markers like homocysteine.”
For readers considering drinking coffee for its potential health benefits, Richard advises:
- Please consult with a registered dietitian to learn if coffee may be beneficial to your health and needs.
- Don’t necessarily start adding it if you don’t like it yet
- Consider how much coffee you consume, keeping in mind that a 3-ounce chilly brew with vanilla and caramel syrup will not provide the same benefits as a sugar-free coffee with low-fat milk or no additives.
- Ask yourself, “If I am sitting for six to eight hours, how can I move more every hour, every day?
