Less Sitting Time Can Be Initial Step in Total Fitness Plan

Study supports physicians in advising male patients to reduce sitting time to help avoid obesity
obese man weighs himself
obese man weighs himself

THURSDAY, Jan. 19, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- The reduction and interruption of sitting time can be an initial step in the development of a total physical activity plan for male patients, according to the conclusions of a report published in the December issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Preventing Chronic Disease.

Carolyn E. Barlow, Ph.D., from The Cooper Institute in Dallas, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis involving 4,486 men and 1,845 women who reported daily estimated sitting time, had adiposity, blood lipids, glucose, and blood pressure measures, and underwent maximal stress testing. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was measured as a potential effect modifier.

The researchers found that, compared with men who sat almost none of the time (about 0 percent), men who sat almost all of the time (100 percent) were more likely to be obese as defined by waist girth or percentage of body fat (odds ratios, 2.61 and 3.33, respectively). After adjustment for CRF level, sitting time was not significantly associated with other cardiometabolic risk factors. After adjustment for CRF and other covariates, there were no significant associations between sitting time and cardiometabolic risk factors for women.

"As health professionals struggle to find ways to combat obesity and its health effects, reducing sitting time can be an initial step in a total physical activity plan that includes strategies to reduce sedentary time through increases in physical activity among men," the authors write.

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