Abstract
BackgroundEvidence suggests that disrupting prolonged bouts of sitting with short bouts of physical activity can significantly reduce blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity; however, limited research is available on the impact of such disruptions on inflammation and swelling. The purpose of this study was to determine whether short bouts of exercise performed each hour during a 4 h sitting session were able to negate the effects of prolonged sitting (PS) on several cardiometabolic outcomes.MethodsEligible participants (n = 10) attended two laboratory sessions: PS (uninterrupted sitting for 4 h) and disrupted sitting (DS; 4 h sitting session disrupted by 3 min of exercise each hour (60-s warm-up at 50 W, 5 s of unloaded cycling, 20-s sprint at 5% body weight, and 95-s cool-down at 50 W)). The exercise bouts were performed at minute 60, 120, and 180. Blood and saliva samples, and measures of heart rate and blood pressure were assessed before (T1) and after (T2) each session; leg swell was measured continuously.ResultsConcentrations of salivary IL-8 increased during PS (T1: 0.19 ± 0.32; T2: 0.50 ± 1.00 pg/μg of protein) but decreased during DS (T1: 0.41 ± 0.23; T2: 0.22 ± 0.11 pg/μg of protein, d: 0.51, p = 0.002). Leg swell increased and plateaued in PS, but was attenuated during DS.ConclusionIt appears that short bouts of exercise significantly reduce swelling in the lower leg and IL-8 levels in the saliva, indicating that even among healthy, active, young adults, disrupting prolonged sitting can significantly reduce swelling and systemic inflammation.
Highlights
Evidence suggests that disrupting prolonged bouts of sitting with short bouts of physical activity can significantly reduce blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity; limited research is available on the impact of such disruptions on inflammation and swelling
While there is evidence to suggest that engaging in regular physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity can negate the detrimental effects of sedentary behaviour, few individuals are accumulating the 60–75 min per day that this requires [4]
There was a significant main effect for session (p = 0.034) indicating a higher blood glucose at the end of disrupted sitting (DS) compared to prolonged sitting (PS)
Summary
Evidence suggests that disrupting prolonged bouts of sitting with short bouts of physical activity can significantly reduce blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity; limited research is available on the impact of such disruptions on inflammation and swelling. Peddie et al [6] showed that regular activity breaks (1 min and 40 s, every 30 min) over a 9 h sitting session led to significant improvements in plasma glucose and plasma triglycerides when compared to either sitting for 9 h, or compared to 30 min of walking prior to sitting for 9 h (n = 70). This suggests that breaking up sedentary bouts may be more important for cardiometabolic health than engaging in one bout of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity in the day. Disrupting prolonged bouts of sitting using similar models has been shown to improve endothelial function [7], oxidative stress [8] and blood pressure [9]
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