A new long-term study has found that spending too much time sitting still during childhood and teenage years may raise blood pressure by the time kids become young adults.
The good news? Simply adding light physical activity into daily routines can help keep blood pressure at a healthier level.
The research was done by scientists from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter in the U.K., along with the University of Eastern Finland.
They followed 2,513 children over a period of 13 years, from age 11 through age 24. During this time, they recorded how active the children were and checked their blood pressure at different ages.
At the beginning of the study, the children spent about six hours a day sitting or lying down (this is called sedentary time), six hours doing light activities like walking or doing chores, and close to one hour in more intense exercise like playing sports.
But by the time they became young adults, things had changed—sedentary time had increased to nine hours a day, light activity dropped to three hours, and more intense activity stayed the same at about 50 minutes per day.
As the kids sat more and moved less, their blood pressure also rose. The average systolic blood pressure (the top number in a reading) increased from 106 mmHg in childhood to 117 mmHg in young adulthood.
While some increase is normal with age, those who spent more than six hours a day sitting had an extra 4 mmHg increase. This matters because even a small rise in blood pressure can raise the risk of heart problems later in life.
One of the most important findings of the study was that light physical activity—like walking, house chores, or light cycling—helped reduce blood pressure.
Kids who regularly did these kinds of activities had 3 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure by the time they reached adulthood compared to those who were less active. Moderate-to-vigorous activity, such as sports, did not show the same benefit and might slightly raise blood pressure because it builds muscle mass.
The researchers used simulations to show that just replacing 10 minutes of sitting per hour with light activity could lower systolic blood pressure by 3 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by 2 mmHg.
That’s a big deal because a 5 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure is known to cut the risk of heart attack and stroke by about 10%.
This study is the largest and longest of its kind and shows clearly that small, simple movements can have long-term effects on heart health.
Dr. Andrew Agbaje, one of the lead researchers, said the results show how important it is to get kids moving throughout the day—not just through sports, but also by encouraging daily light movement.
With the World Health Organization predicting that 500 million new cases of diseases related to physical inactivity will occur by 2030—and half of those connected to high blood pressure—this message becomes even more urgent.
Parents, teachers, and decision-makers should help children build healthy habits early by cutting down screen time and encouraging at least three hours of light activity every day. This can include walking to school, doing chores, playing outside, or any fun movement-based activity.
This research is a strong reminder that keeping blood pressure in check starts early. By making small changes to how much kids sit and move each day, we can protect their heart health well into the future.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about why checking blood pressure while lying down is very important and lowering top blood pressure number to less than 120 mm Hg effectively prevents heart disease.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies that turmeric and vitamin D may boost blood pressure control in type 2 diabetes and scientists find link between blood pressure drugs and bowel diseases.
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