Cited by 185Physical Activity and HealthCardiovascular and exercise physiologyDiabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 71 of the 72 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 87 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Sedentary Behavior as a Mediator of Type 2 Diabetes

Open access
Hamilton, Marc T., Hamilton, Deborah G., Zderic, Theodore W.·2014·Medicine and Sport Science

Abstract

Over the past 5 years, the fastest growing new area of physical activity research centered around the concept that the large amount of time people spend sitting inactive may have significant physiological consequences hazardous to human health, including risk for type 2 diabetes and poor metabolism of lipids and glucose. Meta-analysis (10 studies) suggests there is a 112% greater relative risk associated with a large duration of sedentary behavior for type 2 diabetes. Meta-analysis also indicates significantly greater odds for metabolic syndrome. We also summarize results for 7 studies using objective measures of total sedentary time and focusing on cardiometabolic risks in persons at high risk for type 2 diabetes or already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The underlying hypothesis introduced in 2004 by the inactivity physiology paradigm has been that frequent and abundant contractile activity by certain types of skeletal muscle can have a potent influence on key physiological processes, even when the intensity is below that achieved through exercise. We explain some of the mechanisms for why the metabolism in slow-twitch oxidative skeletal muscle is key for understanding the healthy responses to low-intensity physical activity (LIPA). Findings from objective measures from inclinometry indicated that the quartile range for weekly sedentary time is ∼29 h/week. The total daily time that people sit, stand, and accumulate nonexercise steps is independent of traditionally recommended moderate-vigorous physical activity. The large amount of sedentary time associated with risk for disease can only be reduced significantly with safe and nonfatiguing LIPA, especially in the most at-risk proportion of the population. Importantly, experimental studies are starting to indicate that it will be especially insightful to understand the acute dose-response effects of LIPA in order to understand why reducing sedentary time can improve lipid and glucose metabolism for the prevention and treatment of chronic disorders related to type 2 diabetes.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review argues that prolonged sedentary behavior is a distinct risk factor for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, independent of moderate-vigorous physical activity. It synthesizes epidemiological and acute physiological evidence to propose that replacing sitting with frequent, non-fatiguing low-intensity physical activity may improve glucose and lipid metabolism.

Key findings

  • In a meta-analysis of 10 studies (6 prospective; 505,045 participants), large vs. small TV time was associated with a 112% greater pooled relative risk of type 2 diabetes, independent of self-reported physical activity.
  • In a meta-analysis of 10 cross-sectional studies (21,393 participants), the most sedentary categories had 73% greater odds of metabolic syndrome, even after some studies adjusted for BMI and MVPA.
  • Objective inclinometry indicated a ~29 hr/week difference between the most and least sedentary quartiles; people sat 50% to 75% of the waking day, and sedentary time was independent of recommended MVPA.
  • Acute experimental evidence: one day of sitting reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by 39% vs. LIPA; another study found ~20% differences in postprandial glucose and insulin between sedentary and active conditions, with similar responses across two walking intensities.

Methods

  • Narrative review of inactivity physiology, contrasting sedentary behavior with exercise physiology and summarizing epidemiological, objective-monitoring, acute experimental, and animal/molecular studies.
  • Data summarized include meta-analyses (10 studies, 505,045 participants; 10 cross-sectional studies, 21,393 participants), 7 studies using objective measures in people at high risk for or diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and acute trials of sitting vs. low-intensity activity.
  • Main analysis is qualitative synthesis of reported relative risks, odds ratios, and physiological mechanisms; no new primary data or meta-analysis is presented.

Limitations

  • Stated: bedrest studies require cautious interpretation; datasets not designed for sedentary behavior may have unanticipated confounding; most objective studies do not report timing of sedentary assessment relative to blood sampling; accelerometry has error in the low-intensity range; no reports relate breaks in sedentary time to type 2 diabetes.
  • Stated: evidence more strongly supports total sedentary time than pattern/breaks for disease risk; after adjustment for waist or BMI, some break associations were no longer significant.
  • Evident: as a narrative review, it does not describe a systematic search strategy or formal quality appraisal, and many included epidemiological studies rely on self-reported TV/sedentary time, limiting causal inference.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1159/000357332

Cites

71 of 71 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 87 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 49 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 6
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 19
23 of 23
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Skeletal muscle insulin resistance is a key element in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes.

    “Skeletal muscle insulin resistance is a key element in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Acute contractile activity induces local signals stimulating glucose uptake independent of insulin signaling.

    “First, independent of insulin signaling, acute contractile activity induces local signals stimulating glucose uptake.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Disease risks are associated with many hours per day of sitting idle, averaging approximately 10 hours per day or 70 hours each week.

    “Disease risks are associated with many hours per day of sitting idle, averaging ~10 hrs/day or 70 hrs each week.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Safe and non-fatiguing low-intensity physical activity can significantly reduce the large amount of sedentary time associated with disease risk in the most at-risk population.

    “The large amount of sedentary time associated with risk for disease can only be reduced significantly with safe and non-fatiguing LIPA, especially in the most at risk proportion of the population.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Muscle cells are constantly sensing and responding to their environment, so contractile activity and inactivity over the whole day counts.

    “A remarkably fundamental concept that is useful for guiding inactivity physiology is simply that muscle cells are constantly sensing and responding to their environment, thus contractile activity and inactivity over the whole day counts.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Sitting at work and in leisure is ubiquitous in modern society.

    “In conclusion, sitting at work and in leisure is ubiquitous in modern society.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    LPL deficiencies are linked to lipoprotein parameters, inflammatory processes, and blood pressure.

    “LPL deficiencies also have been linked to lipoprotein parameters, inflammatory processes, and blood pressure.”
7 of 7

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Newly diagnosed diabetes study is cited as a mortality study

    Minor

    The cited reference 35 is titled as a study of sedentary behavior and mortality in US adults, not a study of cardiometabolic measurements in people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Reference 37 is titled as a study of the latter population and outcomes.

  • Two distinct acute studies are both identified as reference 53

    Minor

    The text identifies Stephens et al. (53) as one acute study, then calls a study in overweight or obese middle-aged adults the second acute study while also citing (53). These cannot be two distinct studies under the same reference number.

2 of 2

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 72 references

1 of the 72 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 101–183 of 183

Metadata

Authors
Hamilton, M. T., Hamilton, D. G., & Zderic, T. W.
Affiliations
Pennington Biomedical Research Center (US)
Venue
Medicine and Sport Science
Publisher
S. Karger AG
Published
2014
Volume
60
Pages
11-26
ISSN
  • 0076-6070 (ISSN-L)
  • 0254-5020
  • 1662-2812
OpenAlex
W1538864188
Cited by
185
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 1
FWCI
31.05
Type
book chapter
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Medicine and sport science/Medicine and sport (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Public Health Service (00119611)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL-70482, HL-52490, R01HL057367, HL-57367, P01HL052490, F32HL070482)
  • National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (F32AR008455)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
Keywords
sedentary behavior, type 2 diabetes, light physical activity, metabolic syndrome, cardiometabolic risk, slow-twitch muscle, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, inclinometry, sedentary time, dose-response relationship
MeSH terms
Animals, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Glucose, Humans, Motor Activity, Risk Factors, Time Factors, Muscle, Skeletal, Metabolic Syndrome, Lipid Metabolism, Actigraphy, Sedentary Behavior

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-09, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-09 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review