Study participant characteristics at the baseline
| Intervention | n | Control | n | |
| Men, n (%) | 13 (39) | 33 | 14 (45) | 31 |
| Age, years | 59 (6) | 33 | 57 (8) | 31 |
| Anthropometrics and metabolism | ||||
| BMI, kg/m2 | 31.5 (4.0) | 33 | 31.7 (4.6) | 31 |
| Body fat, % | 43.1 (8.0) | 33 | 43.1 (8.0) | 31 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 111.1 (11.6) | 33 | 110.7 (11.1) | 31 |
| fP-Glucose, mmol/L | 5.9 (0.5) | 33 | 5.8 (0.4) | 31 |
| fP-Insulin, mU/L* | 9 (7, 13) | 33 | 11 (7, 17) | 30 |
| HbA1c, mmol/l | 37.0 (2.8) | 33 | 36.3 (2.7) | 31 |
| Transversospinal FF, %* | 23.7 (15.6, 33.8) | 22 | 23.8 (19.6, 34.0) | 21 |
| Erector spinae FF, %* | 17.5 (13.3, 26.8) | 22 | 18.0 (14.4, 23.4) | 21 |
| Transversospinal GU, µmol/100 cm3/min* | 2.8 (2.3, 3.2) | 23 | 2.5 (2.0, 3.3) | 20 |
| Erector spinae GU, µmol/100 cm3/min* | 2.9 (2.0, 3.3) | 23 | 2.4 (1.9, 3.9) | 20 |
| QF GU, µmol/100 cm3/min* | 2.0 (1.4, 2.7) | 23 | 1.9 (1.2, 3.2) | 20 |
| Hamstring GU, µmol/100 cm3/min* | 3.0 (2.0, 4.6) | 23 | 2.8 (1.4, 4.0) | 20 |
| Whole-body GU, µmol/kg /min* | 15.3 (10.7, 21.0) | 33 | 13.9 (9.8, 21.0) | 31 |
| Pain and disability | ||||
| Regular medication for pain, n (%) | 3 (9) | 33 | 4 (13) | 31 |
| VAS back pain, 0–10 cm* | 0.3 (0.1, 3.5) | 33 | 0.5 (0.1, 3.0) | 29 |
| VAS pain-related disability, 0–10 cm* | 0.4 (0.1, 2.2) | 33 | 0.7 (0.2, 2.6) | 30 |
| Oswestry Disability Index, %* | 6.0 (1.0, 13.0) | 33 | 6.7 (2.0, 16.0) | 31 |
| Physical activity | ||||
| Accelerometry, hour/day | 14.5 (1.0) | 33 | 14.6 (1.0) | 31 |
| Sedentary time, hour/day | 10.0 (0.9) | 33 | 10.1 (1.1) | 31 |
| Standing time, hour/day | 1.8 (0.6) | 33 | 1.8 (0.6) | 31 |
| LPA, hour/day | 1.7 (0.4) | 33 | 1.8 (0.5) | 31 |
| MVPA, hour/day | 0.96 (0.31) | 33 | 0.97 (0.34) | 31 |
| Breaks in sedentary time, n/day | 28 (8) | 33 | 29 (8) | 31 |
| Steps, n/day | 5204 (1910) | 33 | 5091 (1760) | 31 |
Unless otherwise stated, the results are presented as mean (SD).
*Presented as median (Q1, Q3).
BMI, body mass index; FF, fat fraction; fP-Glucose, fasting plasma glucose; fP-Insulin, fasting plasma insulin; GU, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake; HbA1c, glycated haemoglobin; LPA, light physical activity; MVPA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; QF, quadriceps femoris muscle; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.