Among overweight and obese youths, increased LPA linked with 20 per cent reduced risk of worsening hyperinsulinemia.  

Light physical activity (LPA) is linked to a lower chance of developing excess insulin and insulin resistance from childhood to young adulthood. Increased sedentary time worsens metabolic health, especially in those who are overweight or obese, says a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The observational study conducted by the University of Exeter in collaboration with the University of Bristol and University of Eastern Finland “is the largest and longest follow-up study of children until young adulthood with objectively measured movement behaviours and metabolic indices”. It extends current evidence that movement behaviour may be independently associated with poor metabolic indices, especially in the young population with overweight and obesity.

Findings show that among overweight and obese youths, increased LPA was linked with a 20 per cent reduced risk of worsening hyperinsulinemia, even after adjusting for sedentary time and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The study revealed that three to four hours of daily LPA can lower body fat, inflammation, and cholesterol in youths, potentially breaking the cycle of increasing body fat and insulin resistance. Specifically, each additional minute of daily LPA has been associated with a significant reduction in total body fat over time and a substantial decrease in total cholesterol during growth from childhood to young adulthood.

Currently, there’s limited research on how LPA affects metabolic health in children, mainly because it’s hard to separate its effects from those of more intense activities and sedentary behaviour due to their interconnection. However, in this study, sophisticated statistical methods helped manage these correlations better. 

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