Standing for long periods may not provide cardiovascular benefits, research shows

Standing for long periods does not significantly improve heart health compared with sitting, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Sydney.

It was found by the research that prolonged standing may increase an individual’s risk for circulatory issues, including deep vein thrombosis and varicose veins, as reported by Medical News Today.

Moreover, researchers also said that sitting for more than 10 hours a day possibly raises an individual’s risk for both cardiovascular disease and orthostatic circulatory disease.

Researchers analysed data from an accelerometer, which is a wearable device used to track movement from about 83,000 adults from the UK Biobank for this study.

Data from accelerometer assessed how much time people spent sitting and standing daily.

Additionally, scientists looked for major cardiovascular diseases occurrences within the study population. These were defined as cases of coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke, as well as incidences of orthostatic circulatory diseases such as orthostatic hypotension, varicose vein, chronic venous insufficiency, and venous ulcers.

They found after analysis that the time participants spent standing was not associated with cardiovascular disease risk. However, they also discovered that it also did not improve cardiovascular health over the long term when compared with sitting.

Parallel to this, when it came to sitting, they reported that orthostatic circulatory disease risk increased an average of 26% with every hour after sitting for 10 hours a day.