Every hour spent watching TV on the couch increases the risk of stroke by 14%, the study warns:

As we get older, we naturally slow down, which often means sitting on the couch in front of the TV or stepping back with a book.

But between the ages of 60 and 70, every hour you spend in sedentary activities increases your risk of stroke by 14 percent, one study warns.

People who barely moved for 13 hours or more of their waking days were 44 percent more likely to have a stroke than those who sat for less than 11 hours.

In contrast, just 25 minutes of moderate exercise a day, such as brisk walking or cycling, has been found to reduce the risk by more than 40%.

Previous research has shown that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to the buildup of fatty material in the arteries, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Physical activity helps reduce the risk of stroke by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and reducing these fat deposits.

San Diego State University experts validated the exercise tracking devices on 7,607 American men and women with an average age of 63.

Participants were asked to wear a hip-mounted accelerometer that kept track of how much they moved and at what intensity over the course of a week.

They had to wear and fasten for 16 hours during the day, but could take it off for eight hours at night while in bed.

The results were then used to calculate the average daily time they were awake, sedentary, doing light physical activities such as walking around the house, or more intense activities such as cycling or brisk walking.

Sedentary has been defined as sitting in a chair, lying on the couch, or even standing for long periods of time.

The researchers then examined his medical records seven years later, during which 286 strokes were recorded.

The researchers found that people who sit the most and move for at least 13 hours a day or more have a higher risk of stroke.

Compared to those who sat for 11 hours or less a day, they were 44% more likely to have a stroke within seven years.

The scientists calculated that for every additional hour spent sitting in a sitting position, the risk of stroke increases by 14%.

However, the study’s lead author, Dr. Steven Hooker said the finding also shows that exercise can reduce the risk of stroke.

It was also found that three and a half hours of light exercise a week reduced the risk of stroke by 26% compared to exercising less than two hours a day.

Light exercise may include doing housework or walking around the house.

An even greater protective effect was noted in people who practiced more vigorous physical activity.

Those who did 14 minutes or more of moderate or vigorous exercise, such as brisk walking, biking, or even gardening, saw their risk decreased by 47 percent compared to those who did less than three minutes a day.

Dr. According to the data, the optimal amount of moderate exercise for people over 60 is about 25 minutes a day, Hooker said.

Dr. Hooker noted that the study had some limitations, but the first was that hip-mounted accelerometers did not record physical activity from the waist or from the position people were sitting in.

Another limitation was that the accelerometers only captured a seven-day snapshot of a person’s activity levels, which could change over the course of the follow-up.

Finally, the authors acknowledged that the small stroke samples meant that they did not perform a separate analysis for the different types of stroke, ischemic, and hemorrhagic stroke.

Ischemic stroke, which accounts for 80% of strokes, occurs when there is a blockage in a blood vessel that prevents blood from reaching part of the brain.

The team posted the results in the JRete AMA open diary †

Conversely, a hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel bursts, filling one area of ​​the brain with too much blood while depriving other areas of adequate blood flow.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide.

More than 100,000 strokes occur each year in the UK, with 38,000 deaths. Around 1.3 million people in the UK have suffered a stroke.

In the United States, more than 795,000 people suffer a stroke each year, of which 137,000 die.