Abstract
BackgroundRecently attention has been drawn to the health impacts of time spent engaging in sedentary behaviors. While many studies have investigated general physical activity (PA) in relation to blood lipid levels, the current study aimed to examine the intensity of activity, including sedentary behavior time, and time spent engaging in moderate and intense PA, with concentrations of HDL and LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides.MethodsParticipants comprised 1331 individuals, aged 18 to 70 years, from the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX) study, who underwent objective cardiovascular health assessments and completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Time spent engaging in sedentary behaviors (screen time on a workday and a day off, and total sitting time on a work day), and moderate and intense PA, were related to levels of HDL and LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. Analyses were conducted in the whole sample, and then with stratification according to BMI (normal weight versus overweight/obese).ResultsBoth lower screen time during days off and higher intense PA time were significantly associated with higher HDL-cholesterol after full adjustment for socio-demographic factors, dietary factors and smoking (both p < 0.05). In normal weight individuals, consistent positive relations between triglycerides, LDL, and total cholesterol with all sedentary behavior time variables were observed (all p < 0.05; adjusted for age, education, gender). There were no statistically significant associations between any intensity level of PA or sedentary behavior time variable and lipid levels in those overweight or obese.ConclusionsSpending less time in sedentary behaviors, and engaging in medium levels of intense physical activity may be associated with a more favorable blood lipid profile, particularly with regard to levels of HDL and triglycerides.
Highlights
Attention has been drawn to the health impacts of time spent engaging in sedentary behaviors
11 % of participants were classified as sedentary, with a higher proportion of men (66.7 %) than women (33.3 %) being inactive (p < 0.001)
Sedentary participants were older than those who were physically active (p < 0.05), but frequency of active smoking was similar between sedentary participants (25.3 %) and active participants (Table 1)
Summary
Attention has been drawn to the health impacts of time spent engaging in sedentary behaviors. Attention has more recently been drawn to the association between sedentary behaviors and negative health outcomes, including CVD [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Sedentary behavior refers to any waking behavior that involves an energy expenditure of less than 1.5 metabolic equivalent units (METs) [16, 17]. This can include activities undertaken in sitting or lying, such as watching television or using a computer. There are some inconsistencies in the literature [19, 20] and several reviews have concluded that causal relationships between sedentary behavior time and health outcomes need to be further clarified [21, 22]
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