CompletedNCT03898206Updated Apr 21, 2026Results posted

Effects of Breaking up Prolonged Sitting on Postprandial Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Markers in South Asian Adults

An interventional study of Breaking up sitting with walking breaks (INT-SIT) and Prolonged sitting (SIT) in Cardiovascular Risk Factor, Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes, sponsored by University of Bedfordshire. Completed at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-21.

Sponsored by University of Bedfordshire · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase: Not applicable
Study type: Interventional
Enrollment: 54
Allocation: Randomized
Ages: 18 Years to 75 Years
Sex: All

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to examine whether breaking up prolonged sitting with short regular bouts of walking can reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels after eating, which are risk markers for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. This study will compare these responses in normal-weight versus overweight/obese South Asian adults.

Read the detailed description

Participants will attend a preliminary testing session where height, weight, body fat and waist circumference will be measured. They will be familiarised with a motorised treadmill that will be used during the experimental visit below and will take part in an exercise test to determine a light-intensity walking speed for the experimental visit.

Participants will then attend two experimental visits in a random order:

Prolonged sitting (SIT): Participants will remain seated for 5 hours and instructed to reduce excessive movement.
Breaking up sitting with walking breaks (INT-SIT): Participants will rise from the seated position every 30 minutes throughout the experimental period to walk on a motorised treadmill at a light intensity for 5 minutes. After performing walking activity, they will return to the seated position. In addition, blood sample will be taken at the resting position just before each physical activity bout. The activity breaks will be undertaken on 9 occasions, providing a total of 45 min of light-intensity activity.

During each visit, blood pressure will be taken 11 times and blood samples will be taken 10 times. Participants will be given a breakfast and lunch meal to consume.

Conditions studied

Cardiovascular Risk Factor
Cardiovascular Diseases
Diabetes
Physical Activity
Sedentary Lifestyle

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In context

Cardiovascular Diseases

5,368 studies on the registry are indexed under Cardiovascular Diseases; 939 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 54 is below the median of 100 across 3,084 interventional studies indexed under Cardiovascular Diseases.

Browse Cardiovascular Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Bedfordshire is the lead sponsor of 12 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

Who can participate

Ages eligible: 18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible: All
Accepts healthy volunteers: Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

Self-identified South Asian ethnicity.
Self-report sitting at least 7 hours per day.
Normal weight, overweight or obese.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Unable to speak and read English.
to performing light-intensity walking.
Diagnosed cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Contraindication: A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

Study design

Phase: Not applicable
Primary purpose: Basic science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Enrollment: 54 participants (actual)

Study arms

Experimental
Prolonged sitting (SIT), then breaking up sitting with walking breaks (INT-SIT)
Firstly, participants will remain seated for 5 h and instructed to reduce excessive movement, only rising from the chair to void. After a washout period of at least 3 days, they then performed the INT-SIT condition. Prolonged sitting (SIT): See SIT arm description Breaking up sitting with walking breaks (INT-SIT): See INT-SIT arm description
Other: Prolonged sitting (SIT)
Experimental
Breaking up sitting with walking breaks (INT-SIT), then prolonged sitting (SIT)
Firstly, participants will rise from the seated position every 30 min throughout the experimental period to walk on a motorised treadmill at a light intensity walking (as determined during the preliminary test) for 5 min. Participants will start walk on a treadmill at 30 min (so physical activity would be at 30-35 min), 60 min (physical activity will be at 60-65 min), 90 min (physical activity will be at 90-95 min), 120 min (physical activity will be 120-125 min), 150 min (physical activity will be at 150-155 min ), and 180 min (physical activity will be at 180-185 min) in the breakfast postprandial period and 30 min (physical activity will be 30-35 min), 60 min (physical activity will be at 60-65 min), and 90 min (physical activity will be at 90-95 min) in the lunch postprandial period. After performing a walking activity, they will return to the seated position. After a washout period of at least 3 days, they then performed the SIT condition. SIT : See SIT arm description
Other: Breaking up sitting with walking breaks (INT-SIT)

Interventions

OtherBreaking up sitting with walking breaks (INT-SIT)
See Breaking up sitting with walking breaks arm description
OtherProlonged sitting (SIT)
See Prolonged sitting arm description

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

Postprandial Glucose
Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for glucose
Time frame: Measured over the 5 hour condition period

Secondary outcomes

Postprandial Triglycerides
Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for triglycerides
Time frame: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Postprandial Insulin
Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for insulin
Time frame: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Metabolic Load Index
Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for the Metabolic Load Index (MLI). The MLI will be calculated using the following equation: MLI (mmol.L-1) = blood glucose (mmol.L-1) + TAG (mmol.L-1). Lower values of MLI are considered better for cardiometabolic health!
Time frame: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Resting Energy Expenditure
Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for resting energy expenditure
Time frame: Measured for the 5 hour condition period
Resting Fat Oxidation
Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for resting fat oxidation
Time frame: Measured for the 5 hour condition period
Resting Carbohydrate Oxidation
Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for resting carbohydrate oxidation
Time frame: Measured for the 5 hour condition period
Mean Arterial Pressure
Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) over the 5 h conditions. The following formula will be used to calculate MAP, where P is blood pressure (systolic or diastolic): MAP = PDiastolic + 1/3 (PSystolic - PDiastolic).
Time frame: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Heart Rate
Mean heart rate over the 5 h conditions
Time frame: Measured over the 5 hour condition period

Results

Posted Apr 21, 2026

Participant flow

A total of 54 South Asians (BMI\>18.0 kg.m\^2) aged between 18 and 75 years who were able to walk and perform LPA were recruited; data collection was performed between April 2019 and March 2020.

First Intervention (1 day)

Participant flow — First Intervention (1 day)
Milestone	Prolonged Sitting (SIT), Then Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) in Normal-weight	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT), Then Prolonged Sitting (SIT) in Normal-weight	Prolonged Sitting (SIT), Then Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) in Overweight/Obese	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT), Then Prolonged Sitting (SIT) in Overweight/Obese
Started	7	7	20	20
Completed	7	7	20	20
Not completed	0	0	0	0

Washout (3 days)

Participant flow — Washout (3 days)
Milestone	Prolonged Sitting (SIT), Then Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) in Normal-weight	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT), Then Prolonged Sitting (SIT) in Normal-weight	Prolonged Sitting (SIT), Then Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) in Overweight/Obese	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT), Then Prolonged Sitting (SIT) in Overweight/Obese
Started	7	7	20	20
Completed	7	7	20	20
Not completed	0	0	0	0

Second Intervention (1 day)

Participant flow — Second Intervention (1 day)
Milestone	Prolonged Sitting (SIT), Then Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) in Normal-weight	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT), Then Prolonged Sitting (SIT) in Normal-weight	Prolonged Sitting (SIT), Then Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) in Overweight/Obese	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT), Then Prolonged Sitting (SIT) in Overweight/Obese
Started	7	7	20	20
Completed	4	4	10	9
Not completed	3	3	10	11
Withdrew: Participants were unable to attend the laboratory due to covid-19 first national lockdown.	3	3	10	11

Outcome measures

PrimaryPostprandial Glucose

Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for glucose

Time frame:: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · mmol.L-1.5 h-1

Postprandial Glucose
mmol.L-1.5 h-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Postprandial Glucose	1.46 (1.09 to 1.84)	1.43 (1.05 to 1.71)	1.74 (1.41 to 2.06)	1.53 (1.20 to 1.85)

SecondaryPostprandial Triglycerides

Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for triglycerides

Time frame:: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · mmol.L-1. 5 h-1

Postprandial Triglycerides
mmol.L-1. 5 h-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Postprandial Triglycerides	0.35 (0.07 to 0.64)	0.23 (-0.05 to 0.52)	0.67 (0.45 to 0.89)	0.63 (0.41 to 0.85)

SecondaryPostprandial Insulin

Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for insulin

Time frame:: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · mU.L-1.5 h-1

Postprandial Insulin
mU.L-1.5 h-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Postprandial Insulin	24.69 (16.89 to 32.50)	26.95 (19.14 to 34.75)	44.19 (35.50 to 51.87)	41.12 (32.44 to 49.80)

SecondaryMetabolic Load Index

Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for the Metabolic Load Index (MLI). The MLI will be calculated using the following equation: MLI (mmol.L-1) = blood glucose (mmol.L-1) + TAG (mmol.L-1). Lower values of MLI are considered better for cardiometabolic health!

Time frame:: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · mmol.L-1.5 h-1

Metabolic Load Index
mmol.L-1.5 h-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Metabolic Load Index	1.76 (1.07 to 2.44)	1.60 (0.91 to 2.29)	2.39 (1.98 to 2.79)	2.17 (1.76 to 2.57)

SecondaryResting Energy Expenditure

Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for resting energy expenditure

Time frame:: Measured for the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · kcal.min-1

Resting Energy Expenditure
kcal.min-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Resting Energy Expenditure	0.22 (0.02 to 0.42)	0.21 (0.01 to 0.41)	0.18 (0.13 to 0.22)	0.23 (0.18 to 0.27)

SecondaryResting Fat Oxidation

Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for resting fat oxidation

Time frame:: Measured for the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · mg.min-1

Resting Fat Oxidation
mg.min-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Resting Fat Oxidation	3.21 (-6.35 to 12.76)	0.67 (-8.89 to 10.23)	2.42 (-3.33 to 8.18)	2.12 (-3.62 to 7.85)

SecondaryResting Carbohydrate Oxidation

Incremental area under the curve for each 5 h condition will be calculated for resting carbohydrate oxidation

Time frame:: Measured for the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · mg.min-1

Resting Carbohydrate Oxidation
mg.min-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Resting Carbohydrate Oxidation	44.28 (-7.05 to 95.61)	54.75 (3.43 to 106.08)	43.57 (26.53 to 60.61)	52.38 (35.20 to 69.57)

SecondaryMean Arterial Pressure

Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) over the 5 h conditions. The following formula will be used to calculate MAP, where P is blood pressure (systolic or diastolic): MAP = PDiastolic + 1/3 (PSystolic - PDiastolic).

Time frame:: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · mmHg

Mean Arterial Pressure
mmHg	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Mean Arterial Pressure	89.17 (85.96 to 92.38)	87.24 (84.03 to 90.45)	94.22 (92.05 to 96.38)	93.33 (91.16 to 95.51)

SecondaryHeart Rate

Mean heart rate over the 5 h conditions

Time frame:: Measured over the 5 hour condition period
Reported as:: Mean · beats.min-1

Heart Rate
beats.min-1	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Normal-weight South Asians	Prolonged Sitting (SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians	Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT) for Overweight/Obese South Asians
Heart Rate	67.50 (64.37 to 70.62)	67.62 (64.49 to 70.74)	69.24 (66.92 to 71.56)	69.76 (67.44 to 72.08)

Adverse events

Collected over Adverse event data were collected from the commencement of experimental procedures through study completion for each participant, an average of 2 weeks.. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
Group	Deaths	Serious	Other
Prolonged Sitting (SIT)	0/54 (0%)	0/54 (0%)	0/54 (0%)
Breaking up Sitting With Walking Breaks (INT-SIT)	0/54 (0%)	0/54 (0%)	0/54 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Normal-weight South Asians (BMI between 18.0 to 22.90 kg/m\^2) were defined as anyone identifying themselves as South Asian or Asian British or South Asian British (i.e., Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, and Sri-Lankan). Overweight/obese South Asians (BMI between \>23.0 kg/m\^2) were defined as anyone identifying themselves as South Asian or Asian British or South Asian British (i.e., Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, and Sri-Lankan).

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
Mean	46.4 ± 19.1	44.1 ± 14.2	44.7 ± 15.5

Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
Female	8	22	30
Male	6	18	24

Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Race/Ethnicity, Customized(Participants)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
Sub-Ethnic origin — Bangladeshi	2	9	11
Sub-Ethnic origin — Indian	9	18	27
Sub-Ethnic origin — Paskistani	1	12	13
Sub-Ethnic origin — Nepali	2	1	3

Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
United Kingdom	14	40	108

Body mass index (BMI)
Body mass index (BMI)(kg/m^2)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
Mean	21.3 ± 7.1	27.1 ± 4.0	26.1 ± 4.5

% of Body fat
% of Body fat(%)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
Mean	23.6 ± 5.8	32.6 ± 7.5	30.2 ± 8.1

Waist circumference
Waist circumference(cm)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
Mean	74.3 ± 8.8	91.8 ± 14.3	87.2 ± 15.2

Walking speed
Walking speed(km.h-1)	All Study Participants With Normal Weight	All Study Participants With Overweight/Obese	Total
Mean	2.5 ± 0.6	2.7 ± 0.7	2.6 ± 0.7

3 further baseline measures are reported on the registry.

Study locations

1 site

University of Bedfordshire
Bedford, Bedfordshire MK41 9EA, United Kingdom

References and documents

Study documents

Protocol, analysis plan and consent form ↗ · Feb 26, 2019

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026

ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Apr 2019 to primary completion in Mar 2020, 10 months.

Results were first posted in Apr 2026, 6 years 1 month after primary completion.

Of 1,077 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Cardiovascular Diseases, half reached primary completion within 26 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 12 and three quarters within 48. This study's 10 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 1,216 studies reached it within 26 months; a quarter within 12 and three quarters within 49.

Cardiovascular Diseases covers many different conditions, not one, so the studies compared here vary widely. Read these figures as a rough guide.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered: Mar 28, 2019
First posted: Apr 1, 2019
StartActual: Apr 26, 2019
Primary completionActual: Mar 20, 2020
CompletionActual: Mar 20, 2020
Results first posted: Apr 21, 2026
Last update: Apr 21, 2026

What these dates mean

Start.: When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.: When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.: When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.: Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.

No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 21, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Registry details

Key details

Study ID: NCT03898206
Lead sponsor: University of Bedfordshire
Collaborators: Brunel University
Responsible party: Dr Daniel Bailey (Reader in Sedentary Behaviour and Health, University of Bedfordshire) — Principal investigator
First posted: Apr 1, 2019
Start date: Apr 26, 2019
Primary completion: Mar 20, 2020
Completion: Mar 20, 2020
Results posted: Apr 21, 2026
Last update: Apr 21, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee: No
FDA-regulated drug: No
FDA-regulated device: No

View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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