Heart damage in young adulthood linked with sedentary time in children

The study included 766 children, of whom 55% were girls and 45% were boys. At 11 years of age, children were sedentary for an average of 362 minutes a day, rising to 474 minutes a day in adolescence , and 531 minutes a day in young adulthood. This means that sedentary time increased by an average of 169 minutes a day between childhood and young adulthood.

Each one-minute increase in sedentary time from 11 to 24 years of age was associated with a 0.004 g/m^2.7 increase in left ventricular mass between 17 to 24 years of age. When multiplied by 169 minutes of additional inactivity this equates to a 0.7 g/m^2.7 daily rise – the equivalent of a 3 gram increase in left ventricular mass between echocardiography measurements at the average height gain.

Reference: Dr. Andrew Agbaje et al, European Society Of Cardiology