The Study
The Effects of a Simulated Workday of Prolonged Sitting on Seated versus Supine Blood Pressure and Pulse Wave Velocity in Adults with Overweight/Obesity and Elevated Blood Pressure
This study watched what happened to people's blood pressure and blood vessel stiffness when they sat at a desk all day. It found that sitting made these numbers go up a little bit, but it didn't prove that sitting causes heart disease — just that it changes your body in a way that might be a warning sign.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study watched people sit at a desk for 7.5 hours like a workday and checked their blood pressure and artery stiffness before, during, and after.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — even short-term sitting can stress your heart and arteries, especially if you’re overweight or have high blood pressure, and women may be more affected.
- 2Blood pressure went up by small but meaningful amounts (d=0.25–0.44).
- 3Arteries in the neck and legs got stiffer during sitting.
- 4Women’s blood pressure rose more than men’s.
- 5Measuring while sitting gave higher numbers than lying down.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Vascular Research
Year
2020
Authors
A. Alansare, Robert J. Kowalsky, Melissa A. Jones, S. Perdomo, Lee Stoner, B. Gibbs
Related Content
Claims (6)
Sitting for long periods reduces the body's ability to process sugar after eating and raises blood glucose and blood pressure levels.
When a person sits for a long time, the stiffness of major arteries measured in the lying-down position increases. Measurements taken while seated cannot be used because of body anatomy, so posture changes how arterial stiffness is assessed.
During a 7.5-hour period of continuous sitting, adults with overweight or obesity and elevated blood pressure experience measurable increases in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure.
Seven and a half hours of continuous sitting causes measurable increases in arterial stiffness in the neck and legs of adults with overweight or obesity and high blood pressure.
Women with overweight or obesity and high blood pressure experience larger rises in diastolic blood pressure and average blood pressure when sitting for long periods than men do.
When a person sits for a long time, the measurement of arterial stiffness called carotid-ankle pulse wave velocity is higher when lying down than when sitting, but this difference may be due to how the measurement is taken rather than an actual change in artery stiffness.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.