Non-significant changes were reported for most health- and work-related outcomes .
Findings suggest that activity-permissive workstations can be effective to reduce occupational sedentary time , without compromising work performance .
Excessive sedentary time is detrimentally linked to obesity , type 2 diabetes , cardiovascular disease and premature mortality .
Studies have been investigating the use of activity-permissive workstations to reduce sedentary time in office workers , a highly sedentary target group .
This review systematic ally summarizes the evidence for activity-permissive workstations on sedentary time , health-risk biomarkers , work performance and feasibility indicators in office workplaces .
Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting Reduces Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Responses
OBJECTIVE Observational studies show breaking up prolonged sitting has beneficial associations with cardiometabolic risk markers , but intervention studies are required to investigate causality . We examined the acute effects on postpr and ial glucose and insulin levels of uninterrupted sitting compared with sitting interrupted by brief bouts of light- or moderate-intensity walking . RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Overweight/obese adults ( n = 19 ) , aged 45–65 years , were recruited for a r and omized three-period , three-treatment acute crossover trial : 1 ) uninterrupted sitting ; 2 ) seated with 2-min bouts of light-intensity walking every 20 min ; and 3 ) seated with 2-min bouts of moderate-intensity walking every 20 min . A st and ardized test drink was provided after an initial 2-h period of uninterrupted sitting . The positive incremental area under curves ( iAUC ) for glucose and insulin ( mean [ 95 % CI ] ) for the 5 h after the test drink ( 75 g glucose , 50 g fat ) were calculated for the respective treatments . RESULTS The glucose iAUC ( mmol/L ) ⋅ h after both activity-break conditions was reduced ( light : 5.2 [ 4.1–6.6 ] ; moderate : 4.9 [ 3.8–6.1 ] ; both P < 0.01 ) compared with uninterrupted sitting ( 6.9 [ 5.5–8.7 ] ) . Insulin iAUC ( pmol/L ) ⋅ h was also reduced with both activity-break conditions ( light : 633.6 [ 552.4–727.1 ] ; moderate : 637.6 [ 555.5–731.9 ] , P < 0.0001 ) compared with uninterrupted sitting ( 828.6 [ 722.0–950.9 ] ) . CONCLUSIONS Interrupting sitting time with short bouts of light- or moderate-intensity walking  lowers postpr and ial glucose and insulin levels  in overweight/obese adults . This may improve glucose metabolism and potentially be an important public health and clinical intervention strategy for reducing cardiovascular risk
Non-significant changes were reported for most health- and work-related outcomes .
Findings suggest that activity-permissive workstations can be effective to reduce occupational sedentary time , without compromising work performance .
Excessive sedentary time is detrimentally linked to obesity , type 2 diabetes , cardiovascular disease and premature mortality .
Studies have been investigating the use of activity-permissive workstations to reduce sedentary time in office workers , a highly sedentary target group .
This review systematic ally summarizes the evidence for activity-permissive workstations on sedentary time , health-risk biomarkers , work performance and feasibility indicators in office workplaces .