A classroom at an elementary school in Sejong City last September./News 1
Research has shown that if children and adolescents lead a sedentary lifestyle for a long time, their cholesterol levels rise. It has been confirmed that elevated cholesterol levels due to these causes can be resolved through light, continuous exercise rather than vigorous exercise.
A joint research team from the University of Exeter in the UK, the University of Eastern Finland, and the University of Bristol recently announced that these results were obtained as a result of a follow-up study of approximately 790 children and adolescents.
Using data from the 1990s Children’s Study conducted by the University of Bristol, the researchers analyzed the lifestyle patterns and health status of 792 participants who were followed from ages 11 to 24. Participants reported their health status and participated in the survey three times: at age 11, 15, and 24. The researchers tracked their sitting time, daily activity levels, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
The results of the analysis showed that a sedentary lifestyle accumulated since childhood increases cholesterol levels by up to 67% at the age of 24. The researchers warned, “Elevated cholesterol levels and dyslipidemia increase the risk of early death in the mid-40s, asymptomatic atherosclerosis in the mid-20s, and heart damage.”
As a result of analyzing the participants’ activity level, it was found that cholesterol levels raised due to a sedentary lifestyle can be reduced through light physical activity. An average of 4 hours and 30 minutes of light physical activity per day reduced total cholesterol by 0.53 mmol/L, while moderate and high-intensity physical activity of an average of 50 minutes per day only reduced cholesterol by 0.05 mmol/L. It is generally known that high-intensity exercise is essential to lower cholesterol levels, but light physical activity such as walking, housework, slow dancing, swimming, and cycling is up to five times more effective than vigorous physical activity in keeping the heart healthy and reducing inflammation in young people. It was revealed that this was the case.
Professor Andrew Abaze, who led the study at the University of Exeter, said, “The results of this study show that the problem of high cholesterol, which can easily arise due to the lifestyle habits of children and adolescents, can be solved with light activity,” adding, “It is in line with the WHO recommendation (which emphasizes high-intensity exercise).” “It might be time to fix it,” he said.
2023-12-19 01:34:00
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