Sitting Increases Diabetes Risk
Time spent in sedentary behavior — sitting or lying down — has a stronger impact on diabetes risk than does moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in adults, new research shows.
“This is the first work to demonstrate that sedentary behavior might have a greater bearing on diabetes risk factors than exercise in adults at risk of the disease,” lead author Joseph Henson, a PhD student from the Leicester Diabetes Center, United Kingdom, told Medscape Medical News. He reports his findings together with colleagues in a report published online February 27 in Diabetologia.
Mr. Henson stressed, however, that sedentary behavior “is not simply a lack of exercise,” and trying to reduce it “shouldn’t be used as a substitute for exercise; they should be treated independently.
“This requires a paradigm shift, so that people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes think about the balance of sedentary behavior and physical activity throughout the day,” he added, noting that sedentary time occupies a much larger portion of the day than time spent in physical activity.
Sedentary Time Affects Glucose, TGs, and HDL Cholesterol
