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Relationship Between Sedentary Behavior and Cardiovascular Risk

Current Cardiology Reports volume 18, Article number: 6 (2016) Cite this article

Abstract

The majority of adults do not meet current guideline recommendations for moderate to vigorous physical activity. Recent research has linked a high amount of sedentary behavior with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and death. This correlation with sedentary behavior even extends to individuals who meet recommended physical activity goals during the remainder of their day, which implies that sedentary behavior may represent a distinct cardiovascular risk factor that is independent of the overall amount of physical activity. During the past several years, there has been significant interest in identifying and understanding the mechanisms through which sedentary behavior affects cardiovascular health. In this review, we critically evaluate the literature pertaining to sedentary behavior and cardiovascular risk with an emphasis on studies published over the past year, and we suggest possible interventions that may help reduce sedentary behavior time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, 1800 Orleans St, Zayed 7122, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Robert V. Same, David I. Feldman, Nishant Shah, Seth S. Martin, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Michael J. Blaha & Haitham M. Ahmed

  2. Aetna Foundation, Hartford, CT, USA

    Garth Graham

  3. University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA

    Garth Graham

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  1. Robert V. Same
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  2. David I. Feldman
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Correspondence to Haitham M. Ahmed.

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Conflict of Interest

Robert V. Same, David I. Feldman, Nishant Shah, Mahmoud Al Rifai, and Haitham M. Ahmed declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Michael J. Blaha is employed by the FDA (SGE for EDMAC), has received grant support from the FDA/NHLBI, the AHA, and the Aetna Foundation, and has received honoraria from Pfizer and Luitpold Pharmaceuticals.

Seth S. Martin received grant support from the Aetna Foundation for mHealth and Physical Activity.

Garth Graham is employed by the Aetna Foundation.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Lipid Abnormalities and Cardiovascular Prevention

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Same, R.V., Feldman, D.I., Shah, N. et al. Relationship Between Sedentary Behavior and Cardiovascular Risk. Curr Cardiol Rep 18, 6 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-015-0678-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-015-0678-5

Keywords

  • Sedentary behavior
  • Cardiovascular risk
  • Physical activity
  • Lifestyle
  • mHealth