Physical Activity Improves Health Regardless of Time Spent Inactive

Exercise improves the cardiometabolic risk profiles of children and teens regardless of how sedentary a lifestyle they have, a new study found. 

Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity was associated with improvements in waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and insulin in participants with all levels of sedentary time, reported Ulf Ekelund, PhD, of Adenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, England, and colleagues. 

By combining the data from 14 studies included in the International Children’s Accelerometry Database reporting on physical activity and sedentary time, researchers analyzed 20,871 children ages 4 to 18.  Of the participants, 18% were overweight and 7% were obese. 

Improvements to cardiometabolic risk factors were significantly associated with all amounts of time spent in at least moderate physical activity, although those with the shortest sedentary times showed the greatest difference between high and low times of activity.

"Children should be encouraged to increase their participation in physical activity of at least moderate intensity rather than reducing their overall sedentary time, as this appears more important in relation to cardiometabolic health," researchers wrote.

-Michael Potts