The Scope medical blog, published by the Stanford School of Medicine, ran an article yesterday discussing the world’s first systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health in school-aged children. Featured in the article was HALO PhD student Travis Saunders, a co-author on the systematic review along with fellow HALO researchers Mark Tremblay, Allana LeBlanc, Richard Larouche, Rachel Colley and Gary Goldfield.
From the article:
In a post today on Obesity Panacea, Travis Saunders, a co-author of the study and a PhD student in exercise physiology in Ottawa, Canada, described the findings:
Based on this systematic review of 232 studies, sedentary behaviour (assessed primarily through increased TV viewing) for more than 2 hours per day was associated with unfavourable body composition, decreased fitness,lowered scores for self-esteem and pro-social behaviour and decreased academic achievement in school-aged children and youth (5-17 years). This was true for all study designs, across all countries, using both direct and indirect measurements, and regardless of participant sample size. All studies examining risk factors for [metabolic syndrome] and [cardiovascular disease] reported that increased sedentary time was associated with increased health risk; however, the included studies examined a wide range of risk factors, and thus there was insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on the relationship for metabolic risk as a whole.
Noting the abundance of studies on sedentary behavior and body weight, Saunders urged colleagues in the field to focus future research on gaining new insights into how prolonged sitting may affect other health outcomes among children.
Click here to read the article in its entirety.
