What kind of study was this?

This was a randomized cross-over trial (RCT). This means that all study participants were randomly assigned to different groups, then went through some intervention, and then switched groups and went through a different intervention.

Outcomes for each participant are measured after they go through each intervention to see how the same person responds to different interventions.

What did researchers want to know?

They wanted to know how different types of physical activity would affect the energy levels, mood, and cognition of office workers who sit around all day.  

What did the researchers actually do?

They took 30 adults who weren’t regularly physically active and randomly assigned them to one of three conditions:

1) Sit around and do very little for six hours
2) Do 30 minutes of moderately intense treadmill walking in the morning and then sit around for six hours
3) Do 5 minutes of moderately intense treadmill walking once an hour for 6 hours

Each participant went through each of these conditions on different days. After completing each condition, they filled out questionnaires that measured energy levels, fatigue, mood, and cognitive functioning. The researchers then used statistics to compare the differences for these outcomes between the three conditions.

What did the researchers find?

They found that both the single 30-minute exercise and the six 5-minute exercises spread out increased energy levels compared to sitting the full 6 hours. But only the 5-minute exercises improved fatigue and mood compared to sitting. Neither the single 30-minute exercise nor the 5-minute exercises changed cognitive functioning.

What does this mean for parents and kids?

Getting shorter bouts of physical activity all throughout the day is better for reducing fatigue and improving mood than doing one, longer bout of physical activity.

For kids, this means they should be moving regularly whether at home or at school.

For parents, this means taking a break every hour to do a quick walk or jumping jacks will do more for energy levels and mood than going to the gym for a bout of exercise and then sitting around the rest of the day.

Seems inconvenient, but we don’t make the rules. We just report the science!

Original article:
Bergouignan A, Legget KT, De Jong N, Kealey E, Nikolovski J, Groppel JL, Jordan C, O'Day R, Hill JO, Bessesen DH. Effect of frequent interruptions of prolonged sitting on self-perceived levels of energy, mood, food cravings and cognitive function. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2016 Nov 3;13(1):113. doi: 10.1186/s12966-016-0437-z. PMID: 27809874; PMCID: PMC5094084.

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