Effects of Interrupting Sedentary Behavior With Short Bouts of Moderate Physical Activity on Glucose Tolerance in Children With Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized Crossover Trial.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether interrupting prolonged sitting with short bouts of moderate-intensity walking improves glucose metabolism in children with overweight or obesity without affecting dietary intake.
Results Summary
The study found that interrupting sitting with brief walking reduced insulin and C-peptide levels during an oral glucose tolerance test, indicating improved glucose metabolism, without significantly increasing energy intake.
Population
Overweight or obese children aged 7-11 years (BMI ≥85th percentile).
Effective Dosage
3 minutes of moderate-intensity walking (at 80% of ventilatory threshold) every 30 minutes for 3 hours.
Duration
3 hours per session (two experimental conditions).
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
interrupting sedentary behavior (sitting) with very short periods of walking | increase | glucose metabolism | children with overweight or obesity | - | would improve | #1 |
interrupting sedentary behavior (sitting) with very short periods of walking | no change | dietary intake | children with overweight or obesity | - | without affecting | #2 |
interrupting sitting with short bouts of moderate-intensity walking | decrease | insulin area under the curve (AUC) during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) | children with overweight or obesity | - | would decrease | #3 |
interrupted sitting (3 min of moderate-intensity walking at 80% of ventilatory threshold every 30 min for 3 h) | decrease | insulin | Overweight/obese (BMI ≥85th percentile) children 7-11 years of age | - | lower | #4 |
interrupted sitting (3 min of moderate-intensity walking at 80% of ventilatory threshold every 30 min for 3 h) | decrease | C-peptide | Overweight/obese (BMI ≥85th percentile) children 7-11 years of age | - | lower | #5 |
interrupting sitting with brief moderate-intensity walking | increase | glucose metabolism | children with overweight or obesity | - | improved | #6 |
interrupting sitting with brief moderate-intensity walking | no change | energy intake | children with overweight or obesity | - | without significantly increasing | #7 |
interrupting sedentary behavior | decrease | metabolic risk | children with overweight or obesity | - | reducing | #8 |
OBJECTIVE: Sedentary children have greater risk of developing abnormalities in glucose homeostasis. We investigated whether interrupting sedentary behavior (sitting) with very short periods of walking would improve glucose metabolism without affecting dietary intake in children with overweight or obesity. We hypothesized that interrupting sitting with short bouts of moderate-intensity walking would decrease insulin area under the curve (AUC) during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) compared with uninterrupted sitting. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Overweight/obese (BMI ≥85th percentile) children 7-11 years of age underwent two experimental conditions in random order: prolonged sitting (3 h of continuous sitting) and interrupted sitting (3 min of moderate-intensity walking at 80% of ventilatory threshold every 30 min for 3 h). Insulin, C-peptide, and glucose were measured every 30 min for 3 h during an OGTT. Each session was followed by a buffet meal. Primary outcomes were differences in OGTT hormones and substrates and in buffet meal intake by condition. RESULTS: Among 35 children with complete data, mixed-model results identified lower insulin and C-peptide in the interrupted condition ( CONCLUSIONS: Interrupting sitting with brief moderate-intensity walking improved glucose metabolism without significantly increasing energy intake in children with overweight or obesity. Interrupting sedentary behavior may be a promising intervention strategy for reducing metabolic risk in such children.