Sedentary lifestyles hurt even children

A scientist from Finland conducted a study involving children for 13 years and came to the conclusion that a sedentary lifestyle was harmful even to them - this factor led to a significant increase in blood cholesterol levels. But, as it turns out, there is a simple method to reverse the process.

Everyone knows how harmful a sedentary lifestyle is. It leads to an increase in body mass index and is considered one of the leading preventable causes of death in the world. In the U.S. alone, obesity and sedentary lifestyles are responsible for at least 300,000 premature deaths each year and result in $90 billion in health care costs. The risks are especially high for people who spend more than five hours a day in a sedentary position.

Even sedentary lifestyles provoke anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, migraines, diabetes, gout, osteoporosis, scoliosis and even some cancers. Typically, however, the harms of sedentary lifestyles are described for adults, not children. There are such studies, of course, too, but not enough of them. Andrew O'Agbaje, MD, of the University of Eastern Finland, decided to do his part to study the harms of sedentary lifestyles in children and adolescents. The results of the study, which he conducted over 13 years, are presented in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The study involved 792 children whose average age at the beginning of the study was 11.7 years. They were medically monitored until age 24. Measurements of how much time per day they sat on average were taken using an accelerometer at ages 11, 15 and at age 24.

The subjects had their blood levels of high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol, glucose, insulin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein measured repeatedly. Total fat and muscle mass were repeatedly measured in the children using X-ray absorptiometry.

During the 13 years of observation, sedentary time increased in the subjects from about six to nine hours per day, and total physical activity decreased from six to three hours. The average increase in cholesterol levels at the same time was 0.69 millimoles per liter. The scientist concluded that participants who had a sedentary lifestyle since childhood had a 67 percent increase in total cholesterol levels.

But there is good news: Andrew O'Agbaje pointed out that total physical activity averaging up to 4.5 hours a day from childhood to age 24 led to a 0.53 millimoles per liter reduction in total cholesterol. Interestingly, obesity affected this process: it reduced the positive effect of exercise on cholesterol levels.