Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces resting blood pressure in overweight/obese adults

Abstract

Aim: To compare the effect of 7 h of prolonged sitting on resting blood pressure with a similar duration of sitting combined with intermittent brief bouts of light-intensity or moderate-intensity physical activity. Methods and results: Overweight/obese adults ( n = 19; aged 45-65 years) were recruited for a randomized three-treatment crossover trial with a one-week washout between treatments: 1) uninterrupted sitting; 2) sitting with 2 min bouts of light-intensity walking at 3.2 km/h every 20 min; and, 3) sitting with 2 min bouts of moderate-intensity walking at between 5.8 and 6.4 km/h every 20 min. After an initial 2 h period seated, participants consumed a test meal (75 g carbohydrate, 50..