Sedentary lifestyle worsens heart health

Longer sedentary time and lower physical activity (PA) may worsen cardiometabolic health, leading to conditions such as metabolic syndrome (Mets), a recent Japan study has found.

“Reallocating 30 min of sedentary time to light PA was significantly associated with lower body mass index (BMI), visceral fat, insulin resistance, triglyceride, and MetS levels and increased muscle mass and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),” the researchers said.

The cross-sectional study involved data from 758 adults who were made to wear an accelerometer for the measurement of sedentary time and physical activity. Usage patterns revealed that of the mean accelerometer wear time, 67.9 percent of 15.6 hours per day were spent in sedentary activity. Meanwhile, time spent in light and moderate-to-vigorous PA was 4.58 and 0.42 hours per day, respectively.

Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant link between higher sedentary time and cardiometabolic risk factors. For instance, participants in the highest vs lowest quartiles of sedentary time had significantly higher visceral fat area, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, triglyceride levels, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p_trend<0.001 for all).

In contrast, those in the highest category of sedentary time had significantly lower muscle mass and HDL-C (p_trend<0.001 for both).

High sedentary time was likewise associated with MetS (odds ratio [OR], 2.52, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.34–4.73; p_trend=0.004) as well as with its components, abdominal obesity (OR, 2.79, 95 percent CI, 1.63–4.75; p_trend<0.001) and dyslipidaemia (OR, 1.81, 95 percent CI, 1.08–3.04; p_trend=0.018).