Associations of sedentary behaviour patterns with cardiometabolic risk in children: the sit less for health study

This study investigated the association between patterns of sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic risk in children aged 11–12-years-old. Inclinometer and accelerometer determined sedentary behaviour patterns were measured in 118 (51 males) school children, in addition to cardiometabolic risk markers. Data were analysed using partial correlations and multiple linear regression. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, prolonged sedentary time was significantly negatively associated with weight (β=-.681), waist circumference (WC) (β=-.557), body mass index (BMI) (β=-.675) and body fat% (β=-.685) and significantly positively associated with total cholesterol (TC) (β=.410) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) (β=.432). The number of breaks in sedentary time was significantly negatively associated with weight (β=-.661), WC (β=-.597), BMI (β=-.601) and body fat% (β=-.546) and significantly positively associated with TC (β=.334) and HDL (β=.415). Total standing time was significantly negatively associated with weight (β=-.270), WC (β=-.272) and body fat% (β=-.286) and significantly positively associated with HDL (β=.312). This study provides evidence that the number of breaks in sedentary time and total standing time are beneficially associated with cardiometabolic risk in children aged 11–12-years-old. However, the associations of other sedentary behaviour variables cardiometabolic risk is mixed and thus requires further research.