| Prolonged sitting, an increasingly common behavior, has been linked to several poor health outcomes. It is therefore recommended that individuals engage in some activity at regular intervals through the day. The purpose of the current study was to examine the impact that two frequencies and durations of slow walking would have on blood glucose (BG), blood pressure (BP), and femoral artery diameter (FAD). Ten subjects each made three visits to the exercise physiology lab, randomly completing each of three conditions: sitting for three hours, walking 1:40 every 20 minutes for two hours, or walking 5:00 at the end of each of two hours, with each of the walking conditions ending with an hour of sitting. BG, BP, and FAD were measured at various intervals throughout these conditions. The findings showed significant improvement in BG between conditions (p=0.01) and over time (p<0.01). In conclusion, the addition of two, five-minute, slow walking breaks during prolonged sitting periods lowered BG in healthy, young adults, whereas adding more frequent, shorter breaks did not. The addition of exercise breaks did not alter BP or FAD when compared to a three-hour period of sitting. |
