Research Impact: This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the acute effects of interrupting prolonged sitting with frequent short bouts of standing and light-intensity walking on biomarkers of cardiometabolic health, such as postprandial glucose and insulin. The meta-analytical component of this review found both standing and light-intensity walking breaks to significantly reduce postprandial glucose metabolism. However, light-intensity walking elicited a significantly greater attenuation in postprandial glucose compare to prolonged sitting and standing breaks. Light-intensity walking breaks were also shown to significantly improve postprandial insulin compared to prolonged sitting and standing breaks, whereas intermittent bouts of standing showed no significant effect on postprandial insulin compared to prolonged sitting. These findings suggest that standing breaks have a small beneficial effect compared to prolonged sitting on glucose metabolism, but that frequent short bouts of light-intensity walking breaks represent a superior intervention.
Buffey, A.J., Herring, M.P., Langley, C.K., Donnelly, A.E. and Carson, B.P. (2022). The Acute Effects of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting Time in Adults with Standing and Light-Intensity Walking on Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01649-4
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