AUTHOR=Stoner Lee , Barone Gibbs Bethany , Meyer Michelle L. , Fryer Simon , Credeur Daniel , Paterson Craig , Stone Keeron , Hanson Erik D. , Kowalsky Robert J. , Horiuchi Masahiro , Mack Christopher P. , Dave Gaurav TITLE=A Primer on Repeated Sitting Exposure and the Cardiovascular System: Considerations for Study Design, Analysis, Interpretation, and Translation JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2021.716938 DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2021.716938 ISSN=2297-055X ABSTRACT=

Sedentary behavior, particularly sitting, is ubiquitous in many contemporary societies. This is a major societal concern considering the evidence for a strong association between sitting behavior and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Unsurprisingly, leading public health agencies have begun to advocate “reduction” in sitting behavior. Though, the guidelines are typically vague and non-specific. The lack of specific guidelines for prolonged sitting is attributable to the absence of available evidence to facilitate guideline development. To inform policy, well-designed randomized controlled trials are required to test the efficacy of specific and translatable sitting reduction strategies. To guide the design of randomized controlled trials, this review postulates that several gaps in the literature first need to be filled. Following a general discussion of the importance of sitting behavior to contemporary societies, each of the following are discussed: (i) acute sitting exposure and systems physiology; (ii) recommendations for a systems physiology toolbox; (iii) study design considerations for acute sitting exposure; and (iv) translation of sitting-focused research.