Physical Activity Sedentary Breaks Can Lower High Blood Pressure

Sedentary lifestyle is a term frequently used to describe a way of living in which a person participates in relatively little physical activity.
And people are becoming less active everywhere in the world. People who participate in leisure activities, like using computers, watching television, or playing video games, often lead sedentary lives. Additionally, many of the duties that people perform at work are done while they are seated at a desk. One study has shown that taking activity breaks, when sedentary, is important in controlling blood pressure.

Three-hundred and thirty-one middle-aged and older adults were chosen at random and evaluated at the start and end of the 2-year study. For the study, high blood pressure, or HBP, was defined as a systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg. A questionnaire was used to measure physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sedentary breaks. Observed variables included age, gender, socioeconomic status, and body mass index. The researchers found that engaging in "continuously high sedentary breaks" can lower the risk of HBP.

Not only is HBP a problem in a sedentary lifestyle, one study concluded that a sedentary lifestyle can raise the risk of low back pain (LBP). For instance, LBP can develop if you use a computer at work for more than four hours each day. Spending more than seven hours a day sitting down may cause LBP. And playing video games for at least twelve hours each week may cause LBP.  

Some researchers discovered that older people who restrict their sedentary time and engage in more daily physical activity — of any intensity — have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Reduced inactivity and light exercise are associated with lower all-cause mortality.

Since a sedentary lifestyle can lead to HBP and LBP, healthcare providers should encourage their patients to engage in activity breaks in sedentary situations. These breaks can improve health.

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Rope-Skipping can lower Cardiometabolic Risk

A common exercise that many people engage in is walking. Walking is an easy and healthy form of physical activity. So, walking is beneficial. Rope-skipping can also be a beneficial form of physical activity. And rope-skipping is not just for kids, or something adults may feel they have outgrown. One study found that rope-skipping can lower cardiometabolic risk.

People frequently pick up rope-skipping to lose weight. And as shown in the study described below, rope-skipping can enable a person to lose weight. Skipping rope can burn from 200 to 300 calories during a half hour. It should be noted, however, that a person will likely feel exhausted after the half-hour, but with practice, the individual will likely increase staying power. Some experts indicate that rope-skipping is a fantastic full-body exercise, since it engages the abdominal muscles, legs, and shoulders.

The rope-skipping study was a randomized controlled trial done in China. Overweight and obese students from Sun Yat-sen University, who met the inclusion criteria, were chosen for the study. The students were put into four groups: a caloric restriction group (CR), a rope-skipping group (RS), a combined group (CR-RS), and a control group (CT).  Twenty-nine students completed the 8-week study.

Here is what each group did as part of the intervention. The CR group ate 100% to 110% of the calories needed for their bodies to function correctly on a daily basis, the RS group was told to skip rope three times a week, and the CR-RS group did both rope-skipping and caloric restriction. At the start and end of the 8-week intervention, basic information such as anthropometric and blood fasting data were collected.

The researchers concluded that rope-skipping can improve cardiometabolic risk factors for obese and overweight college students. In the CR group, for example, there was a decrease in fat mass, and in the CR-RS group, there was a decrease in fat mass and body weight.

Healthcare providers might want to talk with patients about the health benefits of rope-skipping. For some patients, rope-skipping may be an attractive option.

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