Abstract
Excess sedentary behavior (SB) seems to be harmful for health, whereas the effects of standing can be opposite. The present study aimed at 1) describing different components of SB (lying, reclining, sitting) and standing accumulating from different bout lengths in a population-based sample and 2) analyzing their associations with indicators of cardiometabolic health. The study is based on cross-sectional accelerometer-measured data on 24/7 physical behavior among 20-69-year-old Finns. Outcomes were Framingham score for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, serum high (HDL)- and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol, triglycerides, and waist circumference. Participants (n = 4298) mean age was 51 years (SD=13) and 61 % were female. More lying and reclining, regardless of bout length, were associated with higher CVD-score (p ≤ 0.001), lower HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.001), higher triglycerides (p < 0.001) and larger waist circumference (p < 0.001). Longer sitting time accumulating from <30 min bouts was associated with lower CVD-score (p < 0.001), higher HDL- (p < 0.001), lower LDL- (p = 0.004) and total cholesterol (p = 0.009), lower triglycerides (p < 0.001) and smaller waist circumference (p < 0.001). Longer sitting accumulating from bouts exceeding 20 min was associated with larger waist circumference (p < 0.001) indicating that health associations of sitting may depend on bout length. More standing regardless of bout length was associated with lower CVD-score (≤0.001), higher HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.001), lower triglycerides (p < 0.001) and smaller waist circumference (p < 0.001). These associations were mostly independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Lying and reclining had negative associations with CVD-score and risk factors while short sitting bouts and standing had positive associations, underpinning the importance of evaluating the different components of stationary behavior separately without combining them to overall SB.