Vigorous Activity Can Compensate for Prolonged Sitting Time
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 12, 2024 -- An age-equivalent benefit is found for vigorous exercise, after considering sitting time, according to a study recently published in PLOS ONE.
Ryan Bruellman, from the University of California Riverside, and colleagues analyzed data from the Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development and cognitive aging in adults aged 28 to 49 years to examine how activity intensity and sitting behavior influence health. The trade-off between sitting and physical activity was explored leveraging the co-twin control approach.
The researchers found that the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein ratio (TC/HDL) and body mass index (BMI) demonstrated increasing age trends, with an inverse association seen for prolonged sitting and vigorous activity. An age-equivalent benefit of vigorous exercise was found after considering sitting time, with expected TC/HDL and BMI estimates of those performing 30 minutes daily mirroring those of sedentary individuals five and 10 years younger, respectively. Partial exposure effects for TC/HDL were suggested in a co-twin control analysis, indicating that sitting health effects may be countered by greater vigorous activity, but with diminishing returns.
"Our results challenge recommended physical activity and we suggest guidelines need to be adjusted to account for sitting time throughout the day," the authors write. "Sitting less, healthier eating, and focusing on increasing the amount of vigorous activity need to be clear messaging points to the public to provide a succinct and impactful change to sedentary habits."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted November 2024
Read this next
Declining Childhood Vaccination May Increase Risk for Vaccine-Preventable Infections
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Declining childhood vaccination rates may increase outbreaks of eliminated vaccine-preventable infections within the United States, leading to a...
AACR: Incidence-Based Mortality Dropping for Young Women With Breast Cancer
TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- Incidence-based mortality (IBM) declined from 2010 to 2020 among women aged 20 to 49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study presented...
AACR: Nonsurgical Treatment Feasible for Mismatch Repair-Deficient Tumors
TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- A neoadjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade enables nonoperative management among patients with early-stage mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.