The physiological benefits of sitting less and moving more: Opportunities for future research

Chueh-Lung Hwang; Szu-Hua Chen; Chih-Hsuan Chou; Georgios Grigoriadis; Tzu-Chieh Liao; Ibra S Fancher; Ross Arena; Shane A Phillips

doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2020.12.010

The physiological benefits of sitting less and moving more: Opportunities for future research

Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2022 Jul-Aug:73:61-66. doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2020.12.010. Epub 2021 Jan 13.

Authors

Chueh-Lung Hwang¹, Szu-Hua Chen², Chih-Hsuan Chou³, Georgios Grigoriadis¹, Tzu-Chieh Liao⁴, Ibra S Fancher⁵, Ross Arena⁶, Shane A Phillips⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Integrative Physiology Laboratory, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
² Department of Physical Therapy, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, USA.
³ Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Performance, Gainesville, FL, USA.
⁴ Department of Physical Therapy, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI, USA.
⁵ Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
⁶ Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Integrative Physiology Laboratory, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁷ Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Integrative Physiology Laboratory, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: shanep@uic.edu.

Abstract

Sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) are important risk factors of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. In addition to increasing the amount of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), the current PA guidelines recommend that adults should reduce SB, or any waking activity performed while sitting, reclining, or lying, with low energy expenditure. While mounting evidence has emphasized the benefits of increasing MVPA, little has focused on the effect of SB on health. Therefore, this review discusses the pathophysiological effects of SB and the potential physiological benefits of reducing/breaking up SB at the levels below the current guidelines for PA. Such knowledge is important, given that the majority of the United States population performs insufficient or no MVPA and is at high risk of being negatively impacted by SB. Interventions targeting sedentary time, such as breaking up SB by standing and moving, may be safe, feasible, and applicable to execute daily for a wide range of the population. This review also discusses the importance of monitoring SB in the era of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the clinical implications of sitting less and moving more.

Keywords: Arterial function; Fitness; Inactivity; Sedentary behavior.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Accelerometry
Adult
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Energy Metabolism
Exercise / physiology
Humans
Risk Factors
Sedentary Behavior

Grants and funding

K99 AA028537/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States