Alternating between sitting and standing at work decreases sedentary behavior, but it has no effect on lowering blood pressure, according to a study led by a West Virginia University epidemiologist. Researchers also found that too much standing during work may have negative effects on cardiovascular health. In a clinical trial, researchers expected to determine that people with hypertension could lower their blood pressure with a behavioral intervention including a sit-stand desk to reduce sitting.
"People decreased their sedentary behavior by over an hour a day by standing at their desks and that was really good because there's still a lot of evidence that suggests too much sitting is not good for us and we need to be moving more," said Bethany Barone Gibbs, chair and professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the WVU School of Public Health. "However, blood pressure didn't improve at all, not with resting blood pressure, ambulatory blood pressure or pulse wave velocity. That's important because I think a lot of people are using sit-stand desks and think that might help their blood pressure.
" Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association.
Increasing physical activity is one lifestyle change that can help lower the numbers. "We know moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity like brisk walking or biking absolutely decreases blood pressure," Barone Gibbs said. "But over the past 10 years, we now und.