Dec 31, 2014 03:19 PM EST By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that daily physical activity has a significant impact on vascular health.

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine found that reducing daily physical activity for  just five days leads to decreases in the function of the inner lining of blood vessels in the legs of young, healthy subjects causing vascular dysfunction that can have prolonged effects.

The vascular dysfunction induced by this inactivity requires more than one day of returning to physical activity and taking at least 10,000 steps a day to improve.

"We know the negative consequences from not engaging in physical activity can be reversed," researcher Paul Fadel said in a statement. "There is much data to indicate that at any stage of a disease, and at any time in your life, you can get active and prolong your life. However, we found that skipping just five days of physical activity causes damage to blood vessels in the legs that can take a prolonged period of time to repair."

Inactivity is typically going to lead to people being overweight and obese. The next step after that is insulin resistance which leads to Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Fadel explained.

For the study, researchers studied the early effects on the body's blood vessels when someone transitions from high daily physical activity -- 10,000 or more steps per day -- to low daily physical activity, less than 5,000 steps per day.

Five thousand steps is the national average, but only half of the daily recommendation from the U.S. Surgeon General. The researchers found going from high to low levels of daily physical activity for just five days decreases the function of the inner lining of the blood vessels in the legs.

"The impairment we saw in just five days was quite striking. It shows just how susceptible the vascular system is to physical inactivity," Fadel said.

The study shows that even an acute period of inactivity of five days changes the measure that is already known to be important for long-term cardiovascular health. They also found that although five days of inactivity impairs glycemic control and insulin sensitivity which could lead to Type 2 diabetes.

"We need to teach and explain to people about the physiology of their bodies and the physiology of the disease process and help them understand that inactivity plays a foundational role in the disease process," researcher John Thyfault added.

The findings are detailed in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

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