High Levels Of Sitting Time Ups Diabetes Risk For Women
Thu, 23 Feb 2012
A new study suggests that women who sit for up to seven hours a day may be at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Researchers from the University of Leicester found that women who spend the most time sitting down during the week are more likely to show early signs of the disease than those who are more active. However, no such link was found in men.
For their study, the scientists questioned 505 men and women aged 59 or over on their sedentary behaviour and conducted tests to measure levels of certain chemicals in their blood known to be linked with the onset of diabetes.
The results showed that women sat between an average of four and seven hours each day and men between four and eight hours.
Women who sat the longest had higher levels of insulin, which suggested their bodies were becoming resistant to the hormone, thus increasing their chances of developing diabetes .
They also had higher readings of C-reactive protein, leptin, adinopectin and interleukin-6, all chemicals released by fatty tissue in the abdomen and which point to dangerous inflammation .
In a report, the researchers said: “This study provides new evidence that higher levels of sitting time, independent of physical activity, have a deleterious impact on insulin resistance and chronic low-grade inflammation in women but not men.”
“It suggests enabling women to spend less time sitting is an important factor in preventing chronic disease .”
Commenting on why the same results were not found in the male participants, they explained that this may be because women tend to snack more than men during sedentary behaviour, and men engage in more robust activity once they do get moving.
