IMPACT 2 used data and population modelling to quantify the benefits of moderate blood glucose improvements in people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as the potential financial benefits for the NHS.
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Those with diabetes spent an average of 26 minutes longer each day in a sedentary position – such as sitting at a computer – than those with a normal glucose metabolism.
Study author Julianne van der Berg, from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and her team of researchers focused on several factors: the participants’ daily sedentary time, the number of sedentary breaks, the number of prolonged sedentary periods (more than 30 minutes), and the average lengths of their sedentary periods.
Jane-Claire Judson, national director of Diabetes Scotland, said: “We want everyone in Scotland to be aware of the risk factors associated with developing Type 2 diabetes and get the support they need to live healthier lives with improved diet and fitness”.
Individuals with type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome were significantly less active than those with normal glucose metabolism, a cross-sectional study reported in Diabetologia confirmed.
Most of the participants had jobs that required them to sit down for nine hours or more every day.
Each participant also undertook an oral glucose test to determine their diabetic status. Having glucose levels greater than 180 mg/dL was associated Levels greater than 180 mg/dL were associated with an additional cost of $3,192, 0.8 days longer in the hospital, 1.6% increased infections, and 2.6% increased respiratory complications, similar to patients who already had non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetes with post-surgery hyperglycemia.
The investigators found no significant associations with patterns of sedentary behavior, such as the number of sedentary breaks, the number of prolonged sedentary bouts, or the average sedentary bout duration.
The researchers are not fully sure as to why sedentary behavior plays a role in the development of type-2-diabetes.
More people in Scotland have diabetes than ever before, with latest figures showing there are 276,000 living with the condition.
Overall, 1,395 (56%) participants had a normal glucose metabolism, 388 (15%) had an impaired glucose metabolism and 714 (29%) had type 2 diabetes.
“We all know that physical activity is important, but now we see that sitting is a bad thing”, van der Berg said.
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But, she has warned that the relation between sitting and diabetes is just an association, and doesn’t confirm that sitting leads to type-2 diabetes. They say their results have “important implications” for public health, and that “consideration should be given to including strategies to reduce the amount of sedentary time in diabetes prevention programmes”. How do you stay active in your 60s?
