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. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):21356.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06325-x.

Sedentary behavior accelerates biological aging mediated by body mass index in adults

Jinhang Che  1 , Jie Huai  1 , Lihong Luo  1 , Yunxiang Tang  1 , Tao Zeng  2
Affiliations

Sedentary behavior accelerates biological aging mediated by body mass index in adults

Jinhang Che et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Sedentary behavior is widely recognized as a detriment to health. Limited conclusions have been drawn about the relationship between sitting time and biomarkers-measured aging. 12,504 eligible adults were included from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007 to 2016. Weighted logistic regression, subgroup analysis, and restricted cubic spline regression were conducted to investigate the association and dose-response relationship between sitting time and phenotypic age acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel). The mediating effect of body mass index (BMI) on this correlation was revealed by mediation analysis. After adjusting for multiple covariates, longer sitting time (4-6 h: OR 1.30, 95%CI 1.06-1.58, p = 0.013; 6-8 h: OR 1.25, 95%CI 1.01-1.55, p = 0.038; ≥8 h: OR 1.58, 95%CI 1.33-1.88, p < 0.001) significantly had higher risk of aging comparing to the reference (< 4 h). The dose-response relationship exhibited an approximately linear dependence. Additionally, BMI partially mediated the association between sitting time and PhenoAgeAccel by a 21.0% proportion. Our study revealed a strong, significant, independent, linear relationship between sitting time and phenotypic age. BMI served as a mediator of the correlation between sitting time and PhenoAgeAccel.

Keywords: Body mass index; Phenotypic age; Sedentary behavior; Sitting time.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Involved individuals were reviewed and approved by the National Center for Health Statistics Research Ethics Review Board. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant to participate in the study, and all information was de-identified ( https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/irba98.htm ). Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Participant sample flowchart.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The association of sitting time with PhenoAgeAccel visualized by restricted cubic spline. Risk ratios were adjusted for age, gender, race, education level, PIR, marital status, BMI, smoking, physical activity, diabetes, CHD, stroke, CHF, and HTN.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Subgroup analysis for the association between sitting time and PhenoAgeAccel. HRs were adjusted for age, gender, race, education level, PIR, marital status, BMI, smoking, physical activity, diabetes, CHD, stroke, CHF, and HTN.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The mediating effect of BMI on the relationship between sitting time and PhenoAgeAccel. Adjusted for age, gender, race, education level, PIR, marital status, BMI, smoking, physical activity, diabetes, CHD, stroke, CHF, and HTN.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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