Relationship of Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity to Incident Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Objectives The aim was to examine the independent and joint associations of sitting time and physical activity with risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Background Sedentary behavior is recognized as a distinct construct beyond lack of leisure-time physical activity, but limited data exists on the interrelationship between these two components of energy balance. Methods Participants in the prospective Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (N = 71,018), aged 50–79 and free of CVD at baseline (1993–1998), provided information on sedentary behavior, defined as hours of sitting per day, and usual physical activity at baseline and during follow-up through September 2010. First CVD (coronary heart disease or stroke) events were centrally adjudicated. Results Sitting ≥ 10 hours/day compared to ≤ 5 hours/day was associated with increased CVD risk (HR=1.18, 95% CI 1.09, 1.29) in multivariable models including physical activity. Low physical activity was also associated with higher CVD risk (P, trend <0.001). When women were cross-classified by sitting time and physical activity (P, interaction = 0.94), CVD risk was highest in inactive women (≤1.7 MET-hrs/week) who also reported ≥10 hrs/day of sitting. Results were similar for CHD and stroke when examined separately. Associations between prolonged sitting and risk of CVD were stronger in overweight versus normal weight women and women aged 70 years and older compared to younger women. Conclusions Prolonged sitting time was associated with increased CVD risk, independent of leisure-time physical activity, in postmenopausal women without a history of CVD. A combination of low physical activity and prolonged sitting augments CVD risk.

Prospective association of TV viewing with acute phase reactants and coagulation markers: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

“…41 Some epidemiological studies have demonstrated that associations between sedentary behaviour and CVD are attenuated in physically active participants. 14,15 However, in our analysis to explore the possible additive effects of physical activity and TV viewing on inflammatory markers we did not observe any significant effect modification of physical activity (see figure S1). Physical activity was, however, rather crudely defined (vigorous activity at least once a week), thus future experimental studies are needed to define the dose of activity required to attenuate deleterious effects of prolonged sitting.…”

“…11 Sedentary behaviour has been consistently associated with risk of CVD in population cohort studies, [12][13][14][15] although the mechanisms remain poorly understood. Television (TV) viewing is a major component of leisure sedentary time 16 , particularly in older adults 17 and is distinct from other sedentary behaviours in that it is passive and encourages prolonged periods of sitting.…”

Physical Wellness Among Gaming Adults: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

“…While electronic and hobby gaming are typically viewed as sedentary activities, energy expenditure could differ between different types of gaming (e.g. live action role play vs tabletop role play) especially with the rise of "exergames" that incorporate physical movement and activity as part of the core game mechanics [12][13][14] Sedentary behavior, defined as "any waking behavior characterized by an energy expenditure ≤ 1.5 metabolic equivalents of task (METs), while in a sitting, reclining, or lying posture", has been linked to several adverse health outcomes including obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease [15][16][17][18][19]. Prior studies of sedentary behavior have largely focused on television watching, total screen time, or overall sitting time while few have attempted to parse out the differential associations for specific types of sedentary behavior, including video or hobby gaming.…”

Acceptability of smartphone technology to interrupt sedentary time in adults with diabetes

“…Prolonged sedentary time is also linked with numerous health conditions, including cardiovascular disease [3,4], metabolic syndrome [5,6], obesity [7], and breast cancer [8]. In addition, a large amount of sitting is associated with a 112 % increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and has detrimental effects on insulin resistance and glycemia [3,9].…”