Taking a five-minute walk every hour could help to prevent arterial damage in the legs caused by prolonged periods of sitting, according to new research published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Remaining seated and inactive for long periods has often been associated with some of the contributing factors towards cardiovascular disease.

One such complication that can develop is when slackened muscles in the legs fail to contribute to blood being pumped to the heart.

As a result, blood can often pool in the legs and prevent arteries from doing their job, while increased pressure prevents important blood vessels from expanding.

However, according to this latest study conducted by experts at the Oregon Health & Science University, walking each hour could prevent arteries from becoming damaged.

To observe the effects of walking, scientists brought together 11 healthy, non-obese men between the ages of 20 and 35 years old to take part in two randomised trials.

The first trial saw them sit for three hours without moving their legs, with the state of their femoral artery in the thigh measured using a blood pressure cuff and an ultrasound system.

The scientists measured readings before the tests began, as well as at the one, two and three-hour stages, before asking them to move to the next part of the trial, which saw the participants walk on a treadmill set at a speed of two mph for five minutes at the 30-minute, 1.5-hour and 2.5-hour marks, as they were again asked to sit for three hours.

The researchers discovered that the participants’ dilation and expansion of their arteries was impaired by up to 50 per cent after just the first hour as they sat stationary with no movement, however no impairment was found in the tests where they were asked to walk at specific periods.

The findings come as a recent report declared that fitness not food is the key to solving the UK’s current health crisis, while another argument has mooted that inactivity between workouts can actually be harmful to fitness levels.

Walking has increasingly become the focus surrounding ideas to help tackle inactivity, obesity and health issues, with one piece of research suggesting that the form of exercise could help to save thousands of lives.

Elsewhere, a GP and sports doctor has called on the NHS to prescribe walking and exercise as a form of medical treatment having found it successful in his practice over the past decade.