The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study examines the development and determinants of clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease and their risk factors.   It began in 1985-6 with a group of 5115 Black and White men and women aged 18-30 years.  The participants were selected so that there would be approximately the same number of people in subgroups of race, gender, education (high school or less and more than high school) and age (18-24 and 25-30 years) in each of four field centers: Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; and Oakland, CA.

Using data from the CARDIA study in several distinct but complimentary projects, we have identified independent associations between self-reported and accelerometer-assessed sedentary behavior and physical activity with abdominal and pericardial adiposity, cardiometabolic risk factors, heart rate variability, obesity, cognitive function, physical function and all-cause mortality. This research illustrates the importance of promoting reductions in sedentary behavior with concurrent increases in physical activity for optimal health outcomes.