Daily sedentary time of less than six hours is beneficial for the prevention of obesity in US adults

Abstract

With suggestions that limiting sedentary time can prevent obesity, the need to identify a cut-off point for daily sedentary time is being recognized. Therefore, this study aims to examine the dose-response relationship between daily sedentary time and obesity and to suggest a cutoff of daily sedentary time for the prevention of obesity. Data from the 2003 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analyzed. A total of 5,127 adults (>19 years old) were included in the present study. Accelerometers were used to measure the daily sedentary time. Five sub-groups were created according to daily sedentary hours (e. g., <6 hours, 6 hours [i. e., 6 hours–6 hours and 59 minutes], 7 hours, 8 hours, or ≥9 hours). Obesity status was classified by body fat percentage measured by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between sedentary time and obesity after controlling for covariates. Participants who spent <6 hours of sedentary time were less likely to be obese (OR=0.61; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.86) compared to those who spent sedentary time of ≥9 hours. We found that 6 hours can be suggested as a viable threshold for the prevention of obesity in US adults.