Climbing Stairs may Help Reduce Metabolic Complications

Cardio metabolic complications, caused due to prolonged sitting can be reduced by introducing hourly brief stair climbing exercise “snacks”, as per a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, American College of Sports Medicine. The study explored the effects of brief stair climbing exercise during prolonged sitting on postprandial insulin, glucose, and free fatty acids responses.

Two group of individuals – 12 young healthy-weight men (study 1) and 11 adults with overweight/obesity (study 2) were specified to perform sedentary activity (9-h sitting) and stair climbing snacks (8 × 15–30 s once per hour). Similar amounts of high-glycemic index meals were consumed by both groups at 0, 3, and 6 h at each condition. The primary outcome was total insulin area under the curve (AUC) across 9 h.

No significant differences between both the activities were observed in healthy-weight men for total (9-h) insulin AUC, total glucose AUC, total nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) AUC, or total triglyceride AUC.

Whereas in overweight adults, the total insulin AUC and total NEFA AUC were significantly lower in stair climbing snacks versus sedentary, with no differences for total glucose and triglyceride AUC.

Thus the study emphasizes that breaking up 9 h of prolonged sitting with brief hourly episodes of stair climbing exercise snacks may assist in lowering postprandial insulin and NEFA levels in adults with overweight/obesity.

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Source-Medindia