Study Links Daily Activity Patterns to Body Fat and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers

This study published in the European Heart Journal explored how different daily activities throughout the day (sleep, sitting, standing, light activity, and moderate/vigorous activity) are linked to body fat and health markers related to heart disease and metabolism.It also suggests that a focus solely on increasing physical activity without considering other lifestyle behaviors like sleep may not be optimal.
Key findings:

• The study involved over 15,000 participants from various countries.

• On average, people spent:

  • 7.7 hours sleeping

  • 10.4 hours sedentary (sitting)

  • 3.1 hours standing

  • 1.5 hours doing light activity

  • 1.3 hours doing moderate/vigorous activity

• People with a higher proportion of moderate/vigorous activity (MVPA) and a lower proportion of sedentary time had better health outcomes. This means spending more time on activities that raise your heart rate and breathing, like brisk walking or running, is beneficial.

• Replacing even 30 minutes of any other activity (except sleep, which replaces sedentary time) with MVPA was linked to improvements in various health markers. For example, replacing 30 minutes of sitting with 30 minutes of MVPA was associated with a lower body mass index (BMI).

• Standing seemed to have a slightly positive effect on health.

• Interestingly, replacing light activity or moderate/vigorous activity with sleep was associated with worse health outcomes, while replacing sedentary time with sleep had a positive effect. This suggests sleep is important, but insufficient sleep can counteract the benefits of physical activity.

• The study suggests that even small increases in moderate/vigorous activity can be beneficial, with minimal time investment needed (ranging from 3.8 to 12.7 minutes per day) for some improvements in health markers.

Overall, this study highlights the importance of incorporating moderate/vigorous physical activity into your daily routine, even in small amounts, to improve your health and well-being. It also suggests that a balanced approach considering sleep, sedentary time, and different activity levels might be more effective than focusing on each behavior in isolation.

Cardiometabolic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes mellitus, continue to be significant global health concerns. The Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium, a collaboration of six international studies, aims to shed light on the intricate relationships between movement behaviors and cardiometabolic health. Comprehensive Approach: ProPASS examines five key movement compositions—sleep, sedentary behaviour (SB), standing, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to understand their combined impact on cardiometabolic health.

Investigating Movement Compositions

The study delves into the associations of five key movement compositions—sleep, sedentary behavior (SB), standing, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)—with adiposity and cardiometabolic biomarkers. Unlike conventional studies, ProPASS recognizes the interdependencies of these behaviors and employs a comprehensive approach to understand their impact on health outcomes.

Key Findings

Composition Overview

The average daily composition of the sample, comprising participants from diverse backgrounds, revealed intriguing insights. The participants, with an average age of 53.7 years, spent 7.7 hours sleeping, 10.4 hours sedentary, 3.1 hours standing, 1.5 hours engaged in LIPA, and 1.3 hours in MVPA.

Impact on Cardiometabolic Health

ProPASS identified that a higher proportion of MVPA and a smaller proportion of SB were consistently associated with better outcomes. Time reallocation experiments demonstrated that reallocating time from SB, standing, LIPA, or sleep into MVPA yielded improvements in various health metrics.

Specific Associations

• BMI Improvement: Replacing 30 minutes of SB, sleep, standing, or LIPA with MVPA was associated with significant reductions in BMI (ranging from -0.15 to -0.63 kg/m²).

• Standing Benefit: Greater relative standing time showed a beneficial association.

• Sleep Complexity: Sleep had a detrimental association when replacing LIPA/MVPA but a positive association when replacing SB.

Hierarchy of Behaviors

Compositional data analyses highlighted a distinct hierarchy of behaviors. MVPA emerged as the most time-efficient protective behavior, demonstrating the strongest associations with cardiometabolic outcomes.

Implications and Recommendations

The ProPASS consortium's findings challenge traditional approaches to understanding movement behaviors' impact on cardiometabolic health. The study advocates for a holistic consideration of 24-hour movement behaviors, emphasizing the crucial role of MVPA in maintaining optimal health. These insights could reshape existing public health guidelines, offering a more nuanced and comprehensive approach to promoting cardiometabolic well-being.

To Summarize.

What is the ProPASS Consortium? ProPASS stands for Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep Consortium. It is a collaboration of six international studies focused on understanding the relationships between movement behaviors and cardiometabolic health.

What are the key movement compositions studied by ProPASS? ProPASS investigates five key movement compositions: sleep, sedentary behavior (SB), standing, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

What is the average daily composition of participants in the study? On average, participants (average age 53.7 years) spent 7.7 hours sleeping, 10.4 hours sedentary, 3.1 hours standing, 1.5 hours in LIPA, and 1.3 hours in MVPA.

How do different movement compositions impact cardiometabolic health? ProPASS identified that a higher proportion of MVPA and a smaller proportion of SB were consistently associated with better outcomes. Time reallocation experiments demonstrated improvements in health metrics by reallocating time from SB, standing, LIPA, or sleep into MVPA.

What specific associations were found regarding BMI improvement? Replacing 30 minutes of SB, sleep, standing, or LIPA with MVPA was associated with significant reductions in BMI, ranging from -0.15 to -0.63 kg/m2.

Is there a hierarchy of behaviors identified in the study? Yes, compositional data analyses highlighted a distinct hierarchy of behaviors, with MVPA emerging as the most time-efficient protective behavior, showing the strongest associations with cardiometabolic outcomes.

How does standing time relate to cardiometabolic health? Greater relative standing time showed a beneficial association with cardiometabolic health, as identified by the ProPASS study.

How does sleep impact cardiometabolic health according to ProPASS? The study found that sleep had a detrimental association when replacing LIPA/MVPA but a positive association when replacing SB.

In conclusion, the ProPASS consortium's groundbreaking research provides valuable insights into the complex interplay of daily movement behaviors and their impact on cardiometabolic health. ProPASS provides groundbreaking insights into daily movement behaviors' interplay and their impact on cardiometabolic health. The study's recognition of behavior hierarchy and the efficiency of MVPA sets the stage for redefining guidelines and interventions for preventing cardiometabolic diseases

Reference Article

Joanna M Blodgett, Matthew N Ahmadi, Andrew J Atkin, Sebastien Chastin, Hsiu-Wen Chan, Kristin Suorsa, Esmee A Bakker, Pasan Hettiarcachchi, Peter J Johansson, Lauren B Sherar, Vegar Rangul, Richard M Pulsford, Gita Mishra, Thijs M H Eijsvogels, Sari Stenholm, Alun D Hughes, Armando M Teixeira-Pinto, Ulf Ekelund, I Min Lee, Andreas Holtermann, Annemarie Koster, Emmanuel Stamatakis, Mark Hamer, ProPASS Collaboration, Device-measured physical activity and cardiometabolic health: the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium, European Heart Journal, 2023;, ehad717, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad717

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