title: [Sedentary lifestyle: physical activity duration versus percentage of energy expenditure].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare different definitions of a sedentary lifestyle and to determine which is the most appropriate for demonstrating its relationship with the metabolic syndrome and other cardiovascular risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study of 5814 individuals was carried out. Comparisons were made between two definitions of a sedentary lifestyle: one based on active energy expenditure being less than 10% of total energy expenditure, and the other, on performing less than 25-30 minutes of physical activity per day. Reported levels of physical activity, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical markers of cardiovascular risk were recorded. The associations between a sedentary lifestyle and metabolic syndrome and other risk factors were adjusted for gender, age and tobacco use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle was higher in women (70%) than in men (45-60%, according to the definition used). The definitions based on physical activity duration and on energy expenditure were equally useful: there were direct associations between a sedentary lifestyle and metabolic syndrome, body mass index, abdominal and pelvic circumferences, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, apolipoprotein B, and triglycerides, and inverse associations with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and paraoxonase activity, which demonstrated the greatest percentage difference between sedentary and active individuals. An incidental finding was that both definitions of a sedentary lifestyle were more strongly associated with the metabolic syndrome as defined by International Diabetes Federation criteria than by Adult Treatment Panel III criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given that it is relatively easy to determine whether a patient performs less than 25 minutes of physical activity per day, use of this definition of a sedentary lifestyle is recommended for clinical practice. The serum paraoxonase activity level could provide a useful marker for studying sedentary lifestyles.
authors: Dirección Médica, Hospital San Juan de Dios de Tenerife, Universidad de La Laguna, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. acabrera@sdj.es
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Cabrera de León
authors: María del C
authors: Mdel C
authors: Rodríguez-Pérez
authors: Luis M
authors: LM
authors: Rodríguez-Benjumeda
authors: Basilio
authors: B
authors: Anía-Lafuente
authors: Buenaventura
authors: B
authors: Brito-Díaz
authors: Mercedes
authors: M
authors: Muros de Fuentes
authors: Delia
authors: D
authors: Almeida-González
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Batista-Medina
authors: Armando
authors: A
authors: Aguirre-Jaime
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D009043:Motor Activity; D012307:Risk Factors; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D013997:Time Factors