Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jun;51(6):1227-1241.
doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001935.

Sedentary Behavior and Health: Update from the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee

Peter T Katzmarzyk  1 , Kenneth E Powell  2 , John M Jakicic  3 , Richard P Troiano  4 , Katrina Piercy  5 , Bethany Tennant  6 ; 2018 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE*
Affiliations

Sedentary Behavior and Health: Update from the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee

Peter T Katzmarzyk et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: To provide an overview of relationships between sedentary behavior and mortality as well as incidence of several noncommunicable diseases and weight status reported in the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report (2018 PAGAC Scientific Report), and to update the evidence from recent studies.

Methods: Evidence related to sedentary behavior in the 2018 PAGAC Scientific Report was summarized, and a systematic review was undertaken to identify original studies published between January 2017 and February 2018.

Results: The 2018 PAGAC Scientific Report concluded there was strong evidence that high amounts of sedentary behavior increase the risk for all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and incident CVD and type 2 diabetes. Moderate evidence indicated sedentary behavior is associated with incident endometrial, colon and lung cancer. Limited evidence suggested sedentary behavior is associated with cancer mortality and weight status. There was strong evidence that the hazardous effects of sedentary behavior are more pronounced in physically inactive people. Evidence was insufficient to determine if bout length or breaks in sedentary behavior are associated with health outcomes. The new literature search yielded seven new studies for all-cause mortality, two for CVD mortality, two for cancer mortality, four for type 2 diabetes, one for weight status, and four for cancer; no new studies were identified for CVD incidence. Results of the new studies supported the conclusions in the 2018 PAGAC Scientific Report.

Conclusions: The results of the updated search add further evidence on the association between sedentary behavior and health. Further research is required on how sex, age, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and weight status may modify associations between sedentary behavior and health outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

The authors report no other potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Joint associations of sitting time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with risk of all-cause mortality. From the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report (6), and based on data presented by Ekelund et al. (13).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tremblay MS, Aubert S, Barnes JD, Saunders TJ, Carson V, Latimer-Cheung AE, et al. Sedentary Behavior Research Network (SBRN) - Terminology consensus project process and outcome. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2017;14(1):75. doi: 10.1186/s12966-017-0525-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barone Gibbs B, Hergenroeder AL, Katzmarzyk PT, Lee IM, Jakicic JM. Definition, measurement, and health risks associated with sedentary behavior. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2015;47(6):1295–300. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000517. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Matthews CE, Chen KY, Freedson PS, Buchowski MS, Beech BM, Pate RR, et al. Amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors in the United States, 2003–2004. Am J Epidemiol 2008;167:875–81. - PMC - PubMed
    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2008. 62 p.
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2008. 61 p.

Publication types