Study finds teenage girls sit or lie down for 19 hours a day

Mar 6 2012

A study undertaken by UL researchers has found that teenage girls spend an average of 19 hours a day either sitting or lying down.  Some 111 girls aged between 15 and 18 years took part in the study which measured the time they spent sitting, standing or lying down using a small accelerometer device. The researchers found that although total sitting and lying time was the same between weekdays and weekends, on week-days the sitting time was accumulated in longer bouts, lasting 20 minutes or more.  These long bouts of sitting were more frequent during school time.

UL Professor of Exercise Physiology Alan Donnelly said; “Research has found that sitting for long periods is considered to be associated with an increased risk of long-term poor health. Though sitting too much won't seriously harm adolescents now, it is likely that this behaviour will contribute to the accumulation of a greater long-term risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This is now seen by many researchers as being a different risk to lack of exercise. In other words, you might do enough physical activity, but if you sit for the rest of the day, it will still have health consequences.”

The work was undertaken by PhD students Deirdre Harrington and Kieran Dowd under the supervision of Professor Alan Donnelly, and in collaboration with Dr Alan Bourke from the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, and County Limerick Local Sports Partnership.

The team are continuing this research to track the behaviour and health of 70 girls by measuring how their sitting time and physical activity affects blood cholesterol markers and risk factors for diabetes.

The study was published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 28 October 2011.  http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/8/1/120

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