Sedentary behaviour and adiposity in elite athletes.

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Exercise Physiology
• Obesity Research

Background:

• Overweight and obesity, defined as excessive fat accumulation, pose health risks.
• Increased adiposity negatively impacts health and performance, even in athletes.
• Sedentary behavior is independently linked to higher adiposity, but this association in elite athletes is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between sedentary behavior and body fatness in elite athletes.
• To determine if high training volumes mitigate the effects of sedentary time on body composition.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 82 male elite athletes (mean age 22 years).
• Body composition assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
• Sedentary behavior and training time measured via self-report; analyzed using multiple regression.

Main Results:

• Sedentary behavior independently predicted higher total fat mass (β = 0.77) and trunk fat mass (β = 0.25).
• These associations remained significant regardless of age, training time, and residual mass.
• No significant associations were found between sedentary behavior and fat-free mass, lean soft tissue, or BMI.

Conclusions:

• Higher sedentary behavior in elite athletes is associated with increased total and trunk fat mass.
• Intense physical activity does not fully counteract the detrimental effects of sedentary time on body fatness in this population.
• Recommendations for managing sedentary behavior in athletes are warranted.