Physical inactivity during childhood could lead to cardiovascular events in adult life: Study

A study presented at the 2023 ESC Congress suggests that prolonged periods of inactivity during childhood may contribute to the risk of heart attacks and strokes later in life, even among individuals with normal weight and blood pressure, news agency ANI reported.
This study, which is the first of its kind to investigate the connection between sedentary behavior in young people, as measured by smartwatches, and future heart disease, was conducted as part of the Children of the 1990s project—a significant cohort study with lifestyle assessments starting at birth in 1990/1991.
“All those hours of screen time in young people add up to a heavier heart, which we know from studies in adults raises the likelihood of heart attack and stroke,” study author Dr Andrew Agbaje of the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland told ANI. “Children and teenagers need to move more to protect their long-term health,” he added.
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The study involved children aged 11, 15, and 24, who used smartwatches equipped with activity trackers for seven days during each assessment period. At the ages of 17 and 24, the researchers measured the left ventricle’s weight using an echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound examination. The left ventricle mass was expressed as grammes per cubic metre of height (g/m2.7). The researchers adjusted for various factors that could influence the relationship, including age, gender, blood pressure, body fat, smoking, physical activity, and socioeconomic status. The correlation between sedentary time from ages 11 to 24 and heart measurements taken between ages 17 and 24 was examined in the study.
The findings revealed that for every additional minute spent sitting from ages 11 to 24, there was a corresponding increase of 0.004 g/m2.7 in left ventricular mass between ages 17 and 24. This translates to a daily increase of 0.7 g/m2.7 or a total 3-gram increase in left ventricular mass when considering the extra 169 minutes of inactivity. A similar increase in left ventricular mass (1 g/m2.7) over a seven-year period has been previously linked to a twofold greater risk of heart disease, stroke, and mortality in adults.
“Children were sedentary for more than six hours a day and this increased by nearly three hours a day by the time they reached young adulthood. Our study indicates that the accumulation of inactive time is related to heart damage regardless of body weight and blood pressure. Parents should encourage children and teenagers to move more by taking them out for a walk and limiting time spent on social media and video games. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving,” Dr. Agbaje also said.