Breaking Up Evening Sitting with Resistance Activity Improves Postprandial Glycemic Response: A Randomized Crossover...

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Metabolic Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Sedentary behavior is a risk factor for cardiometabolic disease.
• Interrupting sedentary time during the day improves postprandial glycemia.
• Benefits of interrupting evening sedentary time on glucose, insulin, and triglyceride responses are unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of interrupting evening sedentary time on postprandial glucose, insulin, and triglyceride responses.
• To determine if these effects differ by body mass index (BMI) category.

Main Methods:

• A randomized crossover study involving 30 participants across three BMI categories.
• Participants completed two 4-hour evening intervention arms: prolonged sitting vs. sitting with regular resistance exercise breaks.
• Plasma glucose, insulin, and triglyceride concentrations were measured post-meal, with 4-hour incremental area under the curve compared.

Main Results:

• Regular activity breaks significantly lowered plasma glucose and insulin incremental area under the curve by 31.5% and 26.6%, respectively, compared to prolonged sitting.
• No significant differences were observed for plasma triglyceride area under the curve.
• No statistically significant interactions were found between BMI status and the intervention's effects.

Conclusions:

• Interrupting evening sedentary time with activity breaks can improve cardiometabolic health markers.
• These benefits are observed across all participants, irrespective of their body mass index.
• Evening exercise breaks represent a viable strategy to mitigate risks associated with sedentary behavior.