Objectives: The aim was to investigate if reducing sedentary behavior (SB) improves cardiometabolic biomarkers in adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS).
Design: Randomized controlled trial.
Methods: Sixty-four sedentary middle-aged adults with MetS were randomized into intervention (INT; n = 33) and control (CON; n = 31) groups. INT was guided to limit SB by 1 h/day through increased standing and light-intensity physical activity (LPA). CON was instructed to maintain usual habits. SB, breaks in SB, standing, and physical activity were measured with hip-worn accelerometers for three months. Fasting blood sample analysis and measurements of anthropometrics, body composition, and blood pressure were performed at baseline and at three months. Linear mixed models were used for statistical analyses.
Results: INT reduced SB by 50 (95% CI: 24, 73) min/day by increasing LPA and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (19 [8, 30] and 24 [14, 34] min/day, respectively). Standing increased also, but non-significantly (6 [−11,23] min/day). CON maintained baseline activity levels. Significant intervention effects favoring INT were seen in fasting insulin (INT: 83.4 [68.7, 101.2] vs. CON: 102.0 [83.3, 125.0] pmol/l at three months), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; 3.2 [2.6, 3.9] vs. 4.0 [3.2, 4.9]), HbA1c (37 [36, 38] vs. 38 [37, 39] mmol/mol), and liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (28 [24, 33] vs. 33 [28, 38] U/l).
Conclusions: Reducing SB by 50 min/day and increasing LPA and MVPA showed benefits in several cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with MetS. Replacing some of the daily SB with LPA and MVPA may be helpful in cardiometabolic disease prevention in risk populations.