Does imposing sitting a good thing for school-age kids?

The behavioral impact of an imposed bout of prolonged sitting is yet to be investigated in the pediatric population. The objective of a British Journal of Nutrition study was to determine the acute effect of prolonged sitting on food intake and spontaneous physical activity (PA) levels in healthy children and youth. Kids aged 10–14 years of normal weight were exposed to three experimental conditions in a random order: (1) a day of uninterrupted sitting (Sedentary); (2) a day of sitting interrupted with a 2 min light-intensity walk break every 20 min; (3) a day of sitting interrupted with a 2 min light-intensity walk break every 20 min as well as 2 × 20 min of moderate-intensity PA. 

Despite significant differences in sedentary behavior and activity levels during the three in-laboratory sessions, the researchers did not observe any differences in food intake immediately following exposure to each experimental condition or any changes in the levels of sedentary behavior or PA in the 24 hours following exposure to each experimental condition. These findings suggest that children and youth may not compensate for an imposed bout of sedentary behavior by reducing subsequent food intake or increasing PA levels, which is yet another example of why youth are in the throws of an obesity epidemic.