Adherence to at least two of the three Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines (physical activity, sitting time, sleep) was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events than meeting none, in 13,897 Spanish university graduates from the SUN cohort.
Nearly half of SUN participants met all three 24-hour movement guidelines, and very few met none.
Meeting two of the three 24-hour movement guidelines was associated with a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular events than meeting none.
Meeting all three 24-hour movement guidelines was associated with a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular events than meeting none.
The study defined adherence using specific thresholds for physical activity, sitting time, and sleep duration.
The authors conclude that adherence to at least two of the 24-hour movement guidelines appears associated with lower CVE risk, supporting an integrated approach to daily movement behaviors.
This study followed nearly 14,000 Spanish university graduates for an average of about 14.5 years to see whether following all three parts of the 24-hour movement guidelines related to heart disease. The guidelines cover getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sitting no more than 8 hours a day, and sleeping 7-9 hours a night (7-8 hours for people 65 and older). Nearly half of the participants met all three, and fewer than 1% met none. During follow-up, 148 heart attacks, strokes, or cardiovascular deaths occurred. Compared with people who met none of the guidelines, those who met two or all three had about a 63-64% lower risk of these events after accounting for other factors. The risk was similar whether people met two or three guidelines, so the data do not show a clear extra benefit from the third. This research suggests that combining healthy activity, limited sitting, and adequate sleep may be linked to better heart health. The results should be read cautiously: this was an observational study among highly educated adults, behaviors were self-reported, there were few events, and only a very small group met none of the guidelines, which makes the estimates imprecise. The study cannot prove that following the guidelines causes lower risk.
Finnemore A, Soler R, Bes-Rastrollo M, Martínez-González M, Fernandez-Montero A. (2026). Is adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines related to a lower risk of cardiovascular events? A prospective cohort study including 13 897 participants from the SUN project.. European journal of public health. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag191