06 Jul
10:00

PhD conferral mw. Julianne D. van der Berg, Msc

Promotores: prof.dr. C.D.A. Stehouwer; prof.dr. H. Bosma
Co-promotor: dr.ir. A. Koster

"Sedentary behavior and cardio-metabolic health; a study into the hazards of sitting too much"

Keywords: type 2 diabetes, sedentary behaviour

Physical activity is healthy – that is a well-known fact. Still, many people spend the larger part of the day sitting down. To address this issue, this thesis looks into the relationship between sedentary behaviour and cardio-metabolic health in connection with type 2 diabetes. The research shows that each additional hour spent seated leads to a 22% increase in the chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Reducing sedentary behaviour by standing up or walking around for half an hour significantly reduces the chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it could be valuable to draw up guidelines for sedentary behaviour in addition to guidelines for physical activity.