Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of self-reported sedentary behavior in the general Korean population. We also examined the association between sedentary time and diabetes.
Methods: The participants in this study were 3,877 Korean adults, aged ≥ 20 years. The participants were divided into two groups those diabetes and non-diabetes. Sedentary time and physical activity were measured using self-reported. Survey logistic regression was used to predict diabetes from the levels of sedentary time adjusted for age, sex, education level, household income, smoking status, calorie intake, alcohol consumption, and physical activity as covariates.
Results: Weighted mean of sedentary time was 6.0 (SE: 4.9) hr/day. The prevalence of higher sedentary time defined ≥ 8 hr/day was 31.0 %. The odds ratio (OR) of diabetes increased with increasing time spent of sedentary behavior adjusted for covariates (P<0.05). Among participants in the highest group of sedentary time (≥ 8 hr/day), the risk of diabetes was 47% higher compared to that in the lowest of sedentary time (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.04 to 2.06), independent of physical activity.
Conclusions: We found that higher sedentary time was associated with the risk of diabetes, independent of physical activity. The results of our study suggest that promoting physical activity, to prevent diabetes.