New research into physical activity suggests that it is no longer sufficient just to meet minimum levels recommended by health guidelines in order to reduce cardiovascular risk. Both physical inactivity and sedentary behavior have their own health hazards and need to be addressed separately, in order to explore their different deleterious mechanisms. The aim of this review was to define and to characterize both concepts, and their relationship with major non-communicable chronic diseases. A PubMed database search was undertaken, using the following key words: physical activity, physical inactivity, sedentarism, sedentary behavior, and non-communicable chronic disease. This literature review provides an updated view on physical inactivity and sedentary behavior, and reevaluates their prevalence and association with major non-communicable chronic disease.
Chronic Disease* ; Motor Activity ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Sedentary Lifestyle

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate clinical factors contributing to the low physical activity (PA) of patients with chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: PA was measured in 50 outpatients with chronic schizophrenia using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF). Psychopathology, psychosocial functioning, and extrapyramidal symptoms were assessed using the 18 item-Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-18), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptom Scale (DIEPSS), respectively. We examined differences in these clinical variables between “inactive,”“minimally active,” and “health enhancing physical activity” groups. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the clinical factors explaining low PA levels in patients with schizophrenia. RESULTS: Subjects spent an average of 130.18±238.89 min/wk on moderate/vigorous-intensity PA and only 26% of them met the recommended PA guideline of 150 minutes of at least moderate PA per week. The inactive group showed significantly higher BPRS-18 and DIEPSS scores, and a lower GAF score than the other groups. Linear regression analysis showed that DIEPSS scores independently explained the amount of total PA (p=0.001) and time spent being sedentary (p=0.028). CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence that extrapyramidal symptoms could be a major impediment to the PA of patients with schizophrenia.
Humans ; Linear Models ; Motor Activity* ; Outpatients ; Psychopathology ; Schizophrenia* ; Sedentary Lifestyle

This study is designed to check whether everyday-life stair climbing, which is a low-cost and readily accessible form of exercise, is effective for reducing overweight of sedentary people in various health indicators. We selected four overweight people and measured body weight, body fat percentage, muscle quantity, pulmonary function, lower-extremity strength and volume of thigh muscle and fat. After 3-week exercise of climbing stairs in more than 5 minutes twice a day, same procedures were taken. Body weight was reduced by 3.35 kg on average (standard deviation [SD], 0.79), and body fat mass by 2.53 kg (SD, 1.36). Lower extremity strength improved about 5%, and slight loss of thigh fat (right 3.2%; left 13.4%) was observed. However, pulmonary function and muscle quantity did not grow significantly. Although only four people may not be representative as targets, but it is suggested that stair climbing has sufficient utility as an easily accessible exercise.
Adipose Tissue ; Body Weight ; Lower Extremity ; Overweight ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Sedentary Lifestyle ; Thigh

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of lumbar stabilization exercise on lumbosacral region angle, lumbar strength, lower muscle strength, physical fitness, and low back pain of sedentary women. Twenty females who spend more than 6 hours a day as sedentary at working were recruited. The subjects were assigned to two different groups which are exercise group (n=10) and non-exercise group (n=10). Exercise program was consisted with Swiss ball and lumber stability exercise, and it was performed 60 min/day and 3 times/wk for 8 weeks. Two-way analysis of variance was conducted to analyze experimental data. As a result, there was no significant difference between groups in lumbar lordosis angle and lumbar sacral angle. However, Isometric lumbar extension strength, isokinetic knee flexion and extension peak torque in angular velocity were significantly different between groups, and the pain was reduced. To conclude, this study identified the effectiveness of lumbar stabilization exercise on lumbar muscular, strength, Sargent jump, sit and reach test and reduced pain.
Animals ; Female* ; Humans ; Knee ; Lordosis ; Low Back Pain ; Lumbosacral Region* ; Muscle Strength ; Physical Fitness* ; Sedentary Lifestyle ; Torque

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing rapidly worldwide, primarily because of increases in obesity and decreases in physical activity. Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading problems for the health-care system. In South Korea type 2 diabetes affects approximately 7~8% of adults. Some risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus such as overweight, nutritional imbalance, and a sedentary lifestyle are reversible. To prevent type 2 diabetes two approaches are usually adopted. One is population strategy that is aimed at preventing obesity, and the other is high-risk strategy to prevent and delay the development of type 2 diabetes in high risk groups. Prevention of type 2 diabetes is backed by many research evidences like Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (Finnish DPS) and Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) of USA. In this article I discuss the results of Finnish DPS and DPP, and to propose the prevention strategy in South Korea.
Adult ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diet ; Humans ; Incidence ; Motor Activity ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Sedentary Lifestyle

OBJECTIVES: This study measures serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in tire-manufacturing workers, and attempts to find occupational or non-occupational factors that related to their PSA levels. METHODS: A total of 1,958 healthy male workers (1,699 were production workers and 259 were office workers) took PSA measurement for analysis. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, body mass index, hypertension, regular exercise, alcohol drinking and smoking, which were significantly related to serum PSA levels or known related factors of serum PSA levels, the geometric mean PSA levels were significantly high in the office workers (p = 0.017), the older age group (p < 0.001), the group with hypertension (p = 0.046) and the group of individuals that do not exercise regularly (p = 0.015) and the office workers were more likely to have a serum PSA level of > or =4.0 (OR 7.73, 95% CI: 2.78-21.46) or 2.5 ng/mL (OR 2.74, 95% CI: 1.49-5.08). After stratifying by age and adjusting aforementioned covariates, office workers 50 years of age and older had the significantly higher geometric mean PSA levels (p = 0.017) and were more likely to have a serum PSA level of > or =4.0 ng/mL (OR 12.90, 95% CI: 3.65-45.64) or 2.5 ng/mL (OR 3.90, 95% CI: 1.64-9.25) than production workers 50 years of age and older. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that serum PSA levels were significantly higher among the group with hypertension or the group of individuals that did not exercise regularly or group of office workers who were considered to have lesser physical activities.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Occupations ; Prostate-Specific Antigen* ; Sedentary Lifestyle ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Although obesity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in elderly are well known to be associated with obesity and sitting time, it is unclear whether effect of sedentary lifestyle on HRQOL is affected by body mass index (BMI) or not. So we analyzed the relationship between sitting time and HRQOL according to BMI groups in elderly Korean. METHODS: Participants aged over 60 from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2014 and 2015) were included. Participants were classified as normal weight and overweight/obese groups. Mean sitting times were compared between groups according to the EuroQol 5 dimension (EQ-5D) And logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Men with mobility, usual activity, or pain/discomfort domain problem had longer sitting time. Women with a problem in every domain had longer sitting time. Overweight/obese women with problem showed longer sitting time. Odds ratios (ORs) of mobility, usual activity, pain or discomfort, and low EQ-5D score domain were increased regardless of BMI groups in men. But, ORs of all domains were increased only in overweight/obese group in women. CONCLUSIONS: In elderly Korean, prolonged sitting time associated with decreased HRQOL. Impaired HRQOL is associated with increased sitting time regardless of BMI in men. But only overweight/obese group showed association between prolonged sitting time and impaired HRQOL in women. These results represents that decrease in quality of life according to the increase of the sitting time differs according to the BMI in elderly Korean women.
Aged* ; Body Mass Index* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Quality of Life* ; Sedentary Lifestyle

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Posture ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Retrospective Studies ; Sedentary Lifestyle ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Work ; Young Adult

For healthy life and aging, healthy lifestyles are as important as chronic diseases. Smoking, drinking and overwork have a similar impact on one's life as diabetes, and sedentary lifestyle and stress are more serious than hypertension and obesity. Contrary to the public knowledge, the types of food intake have a relatively small impact, and functional foods are effective only with a given optimal nutrition. Traditionally Koreans think certain types of foods (so-called 'health foods') have great effects on their health, and this idea resulted in confusion of terms health foods with functional foods. The effectiveness of functional foods should be evaluated based on human experiments. The in vitro and animal studies provide only preliminary evidence. Functional foods are between optimum nutrition and drug therapy in its effectiveness. Physicians should have appropriate knowledge on nutrition and functional foods and recommend them to their patients as they do for drug therapy.
Aging ; Animals ; Chronic Disease ; Drinking ; Drug Therapy ; Eating ; Functional Food* ; Food, Organic ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Life Style ; Obesity ; Sedentary Lifestyle ; Smoke ; Smoking

PURPOSE: Since pathophysiologic evidence has been raised to suggest that obesity could facilitate an allergic reaction, obesity has been known as an independent risk factor for allergic disease such as asthma. However, the relationship between sedentary behavior and lifestyle which could lead to obesity, and those allergic diseases remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the relations between physical activity, including sitting time for study, sitting time for leisure and sleep time, and obesity, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis using the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, which was conducted in 2013. Total 53769 adolescent participants (12 through 18 years old) were analyzed using simple and multiple logistic regression analyses with complex sampling. RESULTS: Longer sitting time for study and short sitting time for leisure were associated with allergic rhinitis. High physical activity and short sleep time were associated with asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis. Underweight was negatively associated with atopic dermatitis, whereas overweight was positively correlated with allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis. CONCLUSION: High physical activity, and short sleep time were associated with asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.
Adolescent* ; Asthma* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Leisure Activities ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Motor Activity* ; Obesity* ; Overweight ; Rhinitis, Allergic* ; Risk Factors ; Risk-Taking ; Sedentary Lifestyle ; Thinness