Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light walking or simple resistance activities reduces resting blood pressure and plasma noradrenaline in type 2 diabetes

Objective: Prolonged sitting is increasingly recognized as a ubiquitous cardiometabolic risk factor, possibly distinct from lack of physical exercise. We examined whether interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of lightintensity activity reduced blood pressure (BP) and plasma noradrenaline in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: In a randomized crossover trial, 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with T2D (14 men; mean±SD; 62±6 years) consumed standardized meals during 3-8h conditions: uninterrupted sitting (SIT); sittingRhalf-hourly bouts of walking (3.2 km/h for 3-min) (light-intensity walking); and sittingRhalf-hourly bouts of simple resistance activities for 3 min (SRAs), each separated by 6- 14 days washout. Resting seated BP was measured hourly (mean of three recordings, >20-min postactivity). Plasma noradrenaline was measured at 30-min intervals for the first hour after meals and hourly thereafter. Results: Compared with SIT, mean resting SBP and DBP were significantly reduced (