Higher levels of fitness may ward off the more serious health implications of a sedantary job, such as driving trucks or operating plant, according to a new study by US researchers.
Previous research has shown a link exists between workers who are required to sit for long periods of time, and an increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and premature death.
This most recent study was led by Kerem Shuval, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society.
The study showed that, “…more sedentary time was significantly associated with higher levels of systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as lower levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol. It was also associated with BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percentage.”
“However when researchers controlled for fitness, they found prolonged sedentary time was only significantly associated with a higher triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio (an indicator of insulin resistance). Sedentary time was not associated with metabolic syndrome (a clustering of risk factors). In comparison, higher fitness levels were associated with reduced adiposity and metabolic measures.”
“[A]lthough our findings suggest the need to encourage achieving higher levels of fitness through meeting physical activity guidelines to decrease metabolic risk,” they conclude, “the effects of reducing sedentary time on cardiometabolic risk biomarkers warrant further longitudinal exploration using objective measurement.” the authors of the study said.
Journal Reference:
1.Kerem Shuval, Carrie E. Finley, Carolyn E. Barlow, Kelley Pettee Gabriel, David Leonard, Harold W. Kohl. Sedentary Behavior, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Physical Activity, and Cardiometabolic Risk in Men: The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2014; DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.04.026
American Cancer Society. “Physical fitness associated with less pronounced effect of sedentary behavior.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 July 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140714104054.htm>.
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