The study which followed 792 children aged 11 to 24, took into account sedentary lifestyle, from childhood to early adulthood, the practice of physical activity, evaluated insulin concentration, in particularly in overweight and obese children and adolescents. Participants wore waist-mounted accelerometers at ages 11, 15, and 24 years for 4 to 7 days, and their fasting blood sugar and insulin levels were assessed at ages 15, 17, and 24 years. Also repeatedly assessed were key blood markers, including HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, blood pressure and heart rate. Smoking, socioeconomic status and family history of cardiovascular disease were also taken into account in the analysis. This reveals that:
- At baseline, young participants spent an average of 6 hours per day on sedentary activities,
- this daily sedentary time increases to 9 hours per day during follow-up
- the increase in sedentary time from childhood is associated, in a dose-dependent manner, with a significant increase in the concentration of insulin in the blood,
- particularly in overweight and obese young people, whose risk of excess insulin increases by 20%;
- the practice of physical activity, even light, helps reduce excess insulin and insulin resistance;
- an average of 3 to 4 hours of light physical activity per day throughout the follow-up thus reduces this risk of excess insulin by 20%; this is also the case with more intense activity practice, however, and surprisingly, to a lower extent;
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finally, there is a very strong link between a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, adiposity, dyslipidemia, inflammation and vascular lesions;
- Researchers also describe a vicious cycle between a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and worsening insulin resistance.
Light physical activity in childhood now appears to be a condition and an effective approach to avoid these deleterious effects.
“Let’s call a spade a spade, recent studies converge to designate
childhood sedentary lifestyle as a global scourge for the health of young people,
due in particular to the excessive use of screens »concludes Dr Andrew Agbaje, physician and associate professor of clinical epidemiology and child health at the University of Eastern Finland.
