Bethany Barone Gibbs earns NIH funding to study sitting and blood pressure

Bethany Barone Gibbs, assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Education's Department of Health and Physical Activity, was awarded a $3.4 million, five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study whether an intervention that targets reduced sitting can reduce blood pressure.

Co-investigators include John Jakicic, also from the Department of Health and Physical Activity; Subashan Perera and Matt Muldoon, faculty in Pitt's School of Medicine; and Molly Conroy of the University of Utah.

Gibbs’ project, "Effect of Reducing Sedentary Behavior on Blood Pressure," is a three-month randomized trial involving desk workers with unmedicated, but elevated hypertension. This initiative is especially timely given the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology’s recent recommendation to begin treatment at lower blood pressures. The intervention arm of the trial will target reduced sitting through use of a sit-stand desk attachment, activity prompter and behavioral counseling.