Short bouts of activity may offset lack of sustained exercise in kids
NIH study finds interrupting sitting with short walks lowers blood sugar, insulin and blood fats
Brief intervals of exercise during otherwise sedentary periods may offset the lack of more sustained exercise and could protect children against diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to a small study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Children who interrupted periods of sitting with three minutes of moderate-intensity walking every half hour had lower levels of blood glucose and insulin, compared to periods when they remained seated for three hours. Moreover, on the day they walked, the children did not eat any more at lunch than on the day they remained sedentary.
This page was last updated on Friday, January 21, 2022