Cheap drink protects against dangers of sitting all day better than exercise

Scientists have identified a favorite cold-weather drink as a key means for reversing the harmful effects of prolonged sitting.

Young adults spend around six hours on average of their day sitting. This sedentary behavior is linked to increased risks of obesity, heart disease and depression, even if they are physically active at other times.

Prolonged sitting, often at a desk at work, can gradually impair blood vessel function through stress and reduced blood flow, which in turn lowers the availability of a crucial protective molecule called nitric oxide that controls how blood vessels widen.

Scientists in the UK found that a cup of hot cocoa could fend off these effects in a new study involving 40 young men of varying fitness levels.

The secret was the high amount of flavanols in natural cocoa, heart health-boosting compounds that lower blood pressure. One group drank the cocoa high in flavanols, while another had a nearly identical drink with low levels of flavanols.

The cocoa drink prevented the decline in blood vessel function in both the arm and leg arteries, maintaining baseline levels throughout the sitting period.

Dr Catarina Rendeiro, a nutritional scientist at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study, said in a statement: ‘Whether we are sitting at desks, behind the wheel of a car, on a train, or on the sofa reading a book or watching TV, we all spend a lot of time seated.

‘Even though we are not moving our bodies, we are still putting them under stress. Finding ways to mitigate the impact that sitting for uninterrupted periods has on our vascular system could help us cut the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.’

Sedentary behavior is a leading health risk, with strong ties to increased odds of experiencing heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and more.

Previous research has shown that sitting for long hours behind a desk increases the risk of dying from any cause by 16 percent and from cardiovascular disease by 34 percent.

Sitting for just a few hours without getting up also harms the health of one’s blood vessels, even if they are young and healthy.

Scientists measure this by using an ultrasound to see how well an artery widens when blood flow increases, a sign of a healthy, flexible blood vessel.

Just one to six hours of continuous sitting can significantly reduce this ability, especially in the arteries of the legs.

The UK study tested whether drinking cocoa rich in flavanols before two hours of sitting could protect blood vessel health in the legs and arms of young, healthy men.

The researchers also checked if the cocoa helped maintain circulation in the smallest blood vessels and kept blood pressure stable.

Researchers recruited 40 young, healthy men, aged 18 to 34, with half being highly fit and the other half less fit.

Each participant underwent two laboratory visits, during which they drank either a high-flavanol cocoa beverage or a placebo cocoa drink with most flavanols removed.

Between 30 to 60 minutes later, they sat perfectly still for two hours while scientists used advanced ultrasound to measure how well the arteries in their arms and legs functioned before and after this period of inactivity.

A person's baseline fitness level provided no protection against the harmful vascular effects of prolonged sitting. Both the high-fit and low-fit groups experienced the exact same negative consequences after two uninterrupted hours.

The flavanol-rich drink made a significant difference in both fit and non-fit participants, however.

When participants drank the low-flavanol placebo cocoa and then sat for two hours, their blood vessel function decreased significantly in both their brachial artery in the arm and the femoral artery in the leg. This was the expected harmful effect of sitting.

When participants drank the high-flavanol cocoa and then sat for the same two hours, their blood vessel function did not drop at all. The decline was completely prevented.

A person's fitness level did not enhance the benefits of flavanols; both groups received the same level of protection from the cocoa intervention.

Dr Rendeiro said: ‘Given how common sedentary lifestyles have become and the increased risk this can have to vascular health, using flavanol-rich food and drink, especially in combination with breaking up periods of inactivity by going for a short walk or standing up, could be a good way to enhance long-term health, no matter the individual’s fitness level.’

The benefits of flavanols are easily accessible. Dark chocolate and berries are rich in heart-healthy compounds.

To get the benefit, look for dark chocolate with a high cocoa content of 70 percent and up. A small square, about 10 grams, can provide a meaningful dose of flavanols.

People can also benefit from a cup or two of green or black tea, apples, grapes and nuts.

The research was published in the Journal of Physiology.

The blood vessel deterioration that researchers saw in prolonged sitters is a known driver of cardiovascular disease, and it may explain a disturbing shift in which young people are now dying from heart failure at increasing rates.

Researchers at Duke University reported last year that declines in heart failure deaths from 1999 to 2012 have made a stark reversal since then, from about 82 deaths per 100,000 people in 2012 to about 106 per 100,000 by 2021.