Effects of interrupting sitting on glycemic control
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN15716578 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15716578 |
- Submission date
- 04/07/2023
- Registration date
- 05/07/2023
- Last edited
- 14/07/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The sedentary (inactive) lifestyle, which is highly associated with heart disease and type 2 diabetes, has become highly prevalent in the last decade. Breaking up prolonged sitting time with physical activities has been proven to be beneficial for postprandial (after meals) glucose response. The specific pattern (intensity, frequency, and modality) still remains to be determined. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of breaking up sitting time with brief bouts or a single bout of activities, all having a unique muscle activity pattern but similar energy expenditure, on postprandial glucose responses in overweight and obese men.
Who can participate:
Healthy Chinese young adults between 18-25 years old with body mass index (BMI) over 24 kg/m2
What does the study involve?
Participants are randomly allocated to prolonged sitting for 8.5 hours, sitting with 30-min walking, sitting with 3-min walking every 45 min, or sitting with 3-min squatting every 45 min. Participants undergo glucose and leg muscle activity measurements.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The benefits are that participants can understand their glucose metabolism and were given an individualized sedentary break program. The risks are participants may be afraid to wear a continuous glucose monitor.
Where is the study run from?
Zhejiang University (China)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
April 2020 to August 2021
Who is funding the study?
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Who is the main contact?
Dr Ying Gao, yigao@zju.edu.cn
Contact information
Scientific
Number 866
Yuhangtang Road
Xihu District
Hangzhou
310058
China
| Phone | +86 (0)15967119137 |
|---|---|
| yigao@zju.edu.cn |
Study information
| Study design | Randomized four-arm crossover study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised cross over trial |
| Study setting(s) | Laboratory, University/medical school/dental school |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | Muscle activity when interrupting prolonged sitting improves glycemic control in overweight and obese men |
| Study objectives | Breaking up prolonged sitting time with physical activities would attenuate postprandial glucose response. Multiple breaks would elicit more pronounced glucose reduction through greater muscle activity. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 02/06/2020, Medical Ethics Committee of Zhejiang University (866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 310058, China; +86 (0)15967119137; medicalethics@zju.edu.cn), ref: No.2020−099 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Prevention of pre-diabetes in overweight and obese adults |
| Intervention | The randomization sequence was generated with an online statistical package (https://www.randomization.com). Participants were blinded to the order of the conditions until the commencement of each condition. SIT. Participants sat upright in a comfortable chair throughout the 8.5-h measurement and were instructed to minimize excessive movement. ONE. The protocol was identical to SIT, but participants performed a 30-min light-intensity walking on a treadmill at 4 km·h-1 with no gradient at 1:00 of the experiment time. The first bout commenced at 1:00 of the experiment time. WALK. The protocol was identical to SIT, but participants performed 3-min bouts of light-intensity walking on a treadmill at the same speed and gradient as ONE every 45 min, 10 times throughout the day, which accumulated a total of 30 min walking. The first bout commenced at 1:00 of the experiment time. SQUAT. The protocol was identical to SIT, but participants performed 3-min bouts of squatting following a soundtrack every 45 min, 10 times throughout the day, which accumulated a total of 30 min activity. The soundtrack would beep every 5 seconds. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Postprandial glucose measured using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) throughout the 8.5-h intervention |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Muscle activity measured using textile EMG shorts throughout the 8.5-h intervention 2. Heart rate measured using a heart rate belt throughout the 8.5-h intervention 3. Physical activity measured using accelerometry 2 days before each condition 4. Food intake measured using self-reported dialogue 2 days before each condition 5. Blood pressure measured using an electronic blood pressure monitor every 45 minutes during the measurement (beginning, 1:00, 1:45, 2:30, 3:15, 4:00, 4:45, 5:30, 6:15, 7:00, 7:45, and 8:30 of the experiment time) 6. Perceived feelings, including shoulder, upper limbs, waist, hip, and lower limbs discomfort, fatigue, and working efficiency, measured using a visual analogue scale every 45 minutes during the measurement (beginning, 1:00, 1:45, 2:30, 3:15, 4:00, 4:45, 5:30, 6:15, 7:00, 7:45, and 8:30 of the experiment time) 7. Energy expenditure of daily physical activity tasks, including supine, sitting, standing, walking, running, and squatting, measured using K5 indirect calorimetry 1 week before the intervention 8. Body composition, including body mass, fat mass, muscle mass, and liver fat index, measured using a bioelectrical impedance device 1 week before the intervention 9. Leg swelling measured using a self-made water tank (water displacement method) before and after each condition |
| Overall study start date | 01/04/2020 |
| Completion date | 30/08/2021 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Upper age limit | 35 Years |
| Sex | Male |
| Target number of participants | 18 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Healthy Chinese men aged 18-35 years old 2. Overweight or obese (BMI ≥24 kg/m2) 3. Sedentary (self-reported sitting time >6 h per day for last 2 months), physically inactive (not meeting the physical activity guideline of ≥150 min per week of moderate-intensity or ≥75 min per week of vigorous-intensity exercise for last 2 months) 4. Free of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (fasting glucose ≤6.1 mmol/l) and nonsmoker |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Self-reported chronic, long-term musculoskeletal disease 2. Cardiovascular or metabolic disease requiring medication known to affect metabolism 3. Change of body weight >2 kg in the past 2 months |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/11/2020 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/08/2021 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- China
Study participating centre
Yuhangtang Road
Xihu District
Hangzhou
310058
China
Sponsor information
University/education
Number 866
Yuhangtang Road
Xihu District
Hangzhou
310058
China
| Phone | +86 (0)571 88273934 |
|---|---|
| jyxy05@zju.edu.cn | |
| Website | https://www.zju.edu.cn/english/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/00a2xv884 |
Funders
Funder type
Government
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- Chinese National Science Foundation, Natural Science Foundation of China, National Science Foundation of China, NNSF of China, NSF of China, 国家自然科学基金委员会, National Nature Science Foundation of China, Guójiā Zìrán Kēxué Jījīn Wěiyuánhuì, NSFC, NNSF, NNSFC
- Location
- China
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/12/2023 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Published as a supplement to the results publication |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study will be published as a supplement to the results publication |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | 12/07/2025 | 14/07/2025 | Yes | No |
Editorial Notes
14/07/2025: Publication reference added.
04/07/2023: Study's existence confirmed by the Medical Ethics Committee of Zhejiang University.
