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Sitting time and step counts in office workers
Abstract
Background
Technological advances mean that many adults are now employed in sedentary occupations. Given evidence linking prolonged sitting to chronic disease risk, understanding sitting and physical activity in and outside the workplace may usefully inform effective interventions.AimsTo assess sitting time and physical activity during and outside working hours in full-time office workers.Methods
Participants wore a pedometer and recorded sitting times and step counts during and outside working hours for 7 days. Participants were divided into tertiles based on the proportion of time spent sitting at work. Sitting times and step counts reported outside work were compared between groups, using one-way analysis of variance.ResultsThere were 72 participants. Almost two-thirds (65%) of time at work was spent sitting. The sample accumulated 3742±2493 steps at work and 5159±2474 steps outside work on workdays. Participants in the highest tertile for workplace sitting reported sitting for longer than those in the lowest tertile during transport (64±59 versus 21±16min), after work (154±30 versus 126±51min) and at weekends (382±133 versus 288±124min, all P < 0.05). Work duration and steps reported outside work did not differ between groups.Conclusions
Office workers who sit for a large proportion of their working day also report sitting for longer outside work. They do not compensate for their sedentary behaviour at work by being more active outside work. Occupational health interventions should focus on reducing workplace and leisure-time sitting in sedentary office workers.
... high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes and impaired cognitive function (Hamilton et al. 2007;Bankoski et al. 2011;Magnon et al. 2018). Due to computer-based work and high reliance of technology, officebased workers spend approximately 65-80% of working hours sitting (Clemes et al. 2014;Waters et al. 2016). Although standing and fidgeting seem to provide applicable approaches to elevate physical activity, the efficacy of using these kinds of low-energy demanding activity are likely to be rather modest Koepp et al. 2016). ...
... Studies have shown that office-based workers, with the average age of 37 years, spend 65% of working hours sitting (Clemes et al. 2014). Accordingly, twenty-four young and middle-aged healthy participants (male = 13) age between 20 and 45 years were recruited in the Taipei city via local advertisements in the current study. ...
... decrease in physical activity). In addition, office-based workers do not appear to be more physically active outside the office to compensate for high durations of sedentary behaviour at work (Clemes et al. 2014;Waters et al. 2016). Importantly, our research design (2 min walking every 20 min over 5.5 h) increased step counts by approximately 5,000 steps, resulting in greater physical activity over the 24-h period in the ACTIVE trial. ...
IntroductionIt is unknown whether predetermined (un)interrupted sitting within a laboratory setting will induce compensatory changes in human behaviours (energy intake and physical activity) once people return to a free-living environment. The effects of breaking up prolonged sitting on cognition are also unclear.Methods
Twenty-four (male = 13) healthy participants [age 31 ± 8 y, BMI 22.7 ± 2.3 kg/m2 (mean ± SD)] completed 320 min mixed-feeding trials under prolonged sitting (SIT) or with 2 min walking at 6.4 km/h every 20 min (ACTIVE), in a randomised crossover design. Human behaviours were recorded post-trial under free-living conditions until midnight. Cognitive performance was evaluated before and immediately after SIT and ACTIVE trials. Self-perceived sensations (appetite, energy and mood) and finger prick blood glucose levels were collected at regular intervals throughout the trials.ResultsThere were no differences between trials in eating behaviour and spontaneous physical activity (both, p > 0.05) in free-living conditions, resulting in greater overall total step counts [11,680 (10740,12620) versus 6049 (4845,7253) steps] and physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) over 24-h period in ACTIVE compared to SIT (all, p < 0.05). Greater self-perceived levels of energy and lower blood glucose iAUC were found in ACTIVE trial compared to SIT trial (both, p < 0.05). No differences were found in cognitive performance between trials (all, p > 0.05).Conclusion
Breaking up sitting does not elicit subsequent behavioural compensation, resulting in greater 24-h step counts and PAEE in healthy adults. Breaking up sitting reduces postprandial glucose concentrations and elicits greater self-perceived energy levels, but these positive effects do not acutely translate into improved cognitive function.
... Of the studies initially identified, 109 full-text studies were screened, and 44 studies were included in the review. Of these, 31 were classified as quantitative only (category 1) [20,21,, 11 assessed quantitative outcomes but included subjective behavioural components (category 2) [62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72], one examined self-reported behaviours only (category 3) [73], and one qualitative study examined mechanisms and perceptions of compensation (category 4) [74]. The PRISMA flowchart can be found in Fig. 1. ...
... Study sample sizes ranged from 16 participants [35,45] to 12,969 [69] participants. Of the 44 studies included, the primary or secondary aim of 30 [20, 21, 33, 35-39, 41-44, 48, 50-56, 59, 64, 66, 68-74] and eight studies [34,38,40,47,57,58,62,63], respectively, was to examine activity compensation. The remaining six were 'unspecified' (e.g., results included compensation analyses but this was not a specified aim) [45,46,49,60,61,67]. ...
... Thirteen studies measured specific behaviours [62,[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72], perceptions of compensation [63,74], and/ or mechanisms of compensation [73,74] (see Table 3). Five studies were conducted with youth populations [63-65, 71, 72] and eight with adults [62, 66-70, 73, [63, 65-69, 71, 73] or activity diary [62,64]. ...
Background
Globally, significant efforts have focused on increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour in youth and adults across a range of settings (e.g., schools, workplaces, community, and home). Despite this, interventions have had varied efficacy and typically have failed to sustain changes in behaviours over time. One explanation that has been put forth to explain the mixed success of interventions is activity compensation. However, little is known about activity compensation, including whether compensation occurs, and perceptions and potential mechanisms of activity compensation. Understanding activity compensation would assist in tailoring and targeting of potential intervention strategies. The primary aim of this review was to synthesise research that has investigated activity compensation in youth and adults. The secondary aim was to identify potential reasons for and/or awareness of compensatory changes that may have occurred.
Methods
An electronic search of the EBSCOhost (via Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, Education Source, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, PsycINFO, SPORTdiscus with Full Text), MEDLINE Complete, Global Health, EMBASE, Scopus and Web of Science databases up to May 2021 was conducted. Quality assessment of included quantitative studies used a modified compensation-specific McMaster Quality Assessment Tool.
Results
A total of 44 studies met the inclusion criteria (22 = adult populations; 22 = youth populations) and were classified as (1) quantitative ( n = 31); (2) combination of quantitative and behavioural ( n = 11); (3) behavioural only ( n = 1); and (4) qualitative ( n = 1). Of the 42 studies that included a quantitative component, 11 (26%) reported compensation occurred. Within the 13 studies examining specific behaviours, 35 behaviours were assessed, and evidence of compensation was inconsistent. Compensation mechanisms included fatigue, time constraints, lack of motivation, drive to be inactive, fear of overexertion, and autonomous motivation.
Conclusion
Little evidence of compensation was reported in the included quantitative studies; however, inconsistencies between studies makes comparisons difficult. There was considerable variability in the types of behaviours assessed in quantitative studies, and few studies examined potential compensatory mechanisms. Future research, using compensation specific study designs, methods, and analytic techniques, within different population sub-groups, should address these evidence gaps.
... Furthermore, research by Clemes et al. (2014) distinguished between work and free time sitting, arguing that office workers who sit for prolonged amounts of time also tend to sit a lot during their free time. They invited participants who worked in an office to wear a selftracking device for seven days, both inside and outside of work time. ...
... The findings of these studies have highlighted that people find it difficult to reduce sitting in the workplace because of work pressure and an inability to change office norms and environments (Chau et al., 2014;Hadgraft et al., 2017;Mackenzie, Goyder, & Eves, 2015;Waters et al., 2016). Clemes et al. (2014) also posit that those who sit at work tend not to compensate for this during their free time, therefore arguing that a separation in terms of sitting and activity levels between work and free time exists, which became apparent in the previous chapter of the current thesis. My participants also separated their work and free time sitting; however, they contended that they were more active in their free time, or they did not feel the need to be monitored, and thus they did not need to counter their workplace sitting. ...
... Furthermore, it was often described as being more active than work time, which contrasts with health literature, which argues that those who have sedentary jobs are also sedentary in their spare time (Clemes et al., 2014). The participants felt they adopted healthier rhythms during the evenings and on weekends, and as such they did not feel they needed the assistance of LUMO. ...
This thesis explores how older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
and office workers, experienced sitting while wearing a self-tracking device that prompted
them to break up and reduce their sitting time.
My thesis draws on public health and social science research on self-tracking, as well as the
temporality and rhythms literature, and I argue that sitting can be understood in relation to the
wider social, personal, biographical and institutional contexts to which my participants
related their experiences of the past, present and future, and their changing habitual routines.
Findings were based on two studies, the motivations behind which were to encourage
participants to reduce their sitting and to deduce whether wearing a self-tracking device
would inspire them to do so. The first study was a qualitative nested study which was part of
a multidisciplinary randomised control trial. This study investigated the feasibility of selftracking and an educational booklet created to reduce sitting in older adults with COPD. The
qualitative nested study interviewed 25 patients with COPD, both before and after the study,
and the first interviews explored the contexts of their lives and sitting, while the second
explored how they managed with the device, educational advice and the study as a whole.
The second study interviewed 24 office workers about their experiences with a self-tracking
device designed to reduce their sitting. Each participant was interviewed both before and after
the two-week study period – in interview 1, I explored their lives, their work and their
experiences and associations with sitting, and in interview 2 I investigated their experiences
with the device and the study as a whole.
My four analytic chapters answer the following four questions: how do patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and office workers, use a device to self-track their
sitting time? What kinds of meanings do patients with COPD and office workers attach to
sitting? How do personal and social or institutional temporalities of the past and present, and
the rhythms of everyday life, shape participants’ sitting and self-tracking? And what does the
conceptual framework, focusing on meanings, temporalities and rhythms, add to our
understanding of health, sitting and self-tracking?
The findings of this thesis revealed that the meaning of sitting was different for my two
participant groups, in that they were influenced heavily by their experiences with their past,
present and future, as well as their daily routines and changes in pace. Therefore, in order to
make sense of how these participants understood the meanings of sitting, I adopted a
temporality and rhythms framework, which allowed me to make sense of how COPD
participants either looked back on their previous lives and reminisced on happy memories,
whereby they were mournful and sad about their current lives and changing behaviour, and
sitting less was not important to them, or looked toward their futures in anticipation of a
healthier life and the ability to do more. The concept of rhythms allowed me to make sense of
how some of these participants felt that the self-tracking device and sitting interrupted or did
not fit in with their lives and how they often felt that sitting had positive benefits, or where
their existing rhythms had been interrupted by their illness and this prevented behavioural
change and a reduction in sitting. The concept of rhythms also helped to make sense of those
participants who adopted their existing habitual rhythms to encompass sitting less and selftracking, or those who engaged when their habitual routines coincided with sitting less and
self-tracking.
In contrast, office workers’ sitting and self-tracking were related to the workplace, in that
they looked back on previous work times when they would make time for their health and
take breaks, thus the concept of temporality helped to make sense of this biographical and institutionally dictated time. The concept of rhythms helped to decipher how these
participants did not have an issue with health but associated any negative well-being
consequences to their increasingly fast-paced and stressful work lives. In addition, their free
time was not considered problematic, and so they did not feel the need to change their
behaviour or reduce their sitting or self-tracking during this time, as they saw it as an
opportunity to gain some form of freedom and do what they wanted to do. Therefore the
concept of rhythms provided a way of understanding the different routines of work and home
and how the pace of these rhythms differed in speed and intensity.
The thesis provides a new perspective on exploring sitting and highlights the importance of
exploring both it and self-tracking in relation to the experiences of biographical time (past,
present and future) and changing routines. I offer insights into how, by adopting a rhythms
and temporality framework, we can make sense of people’s experiences of reducing sitting
and engaging with self-tracking in order to do so. The thesis brings together literature on
public health, self-tracking and place and time, and it argues that by studying the meaning of
sitting and adopting a temporality and rhythms framework, the complexity and experience of
time and its relationship with chronic illness and work are illuminated, thereby highlighting
how time, place and pace are fundamental in understanding sitting and self-tracking.
... Between the hours of 00:00-05:00 there are very few differences between the groups, with all groups harvesting ≤ 25 µW. As in Fig. 3, the power begins to increase after 06:00, with the youngest age group (45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54) being the first to increase, followed by the second oldest (55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64), with the oldest two groups (65-74 and 75-79) following a similar pattern to each other until 10:00. For a brief period in the morning (09:00-10:30) three groups, 45-54, 55-64, and 65-74, display similar levels of power at just over 150 µW. ...
... 2) Variations Between Groups: Patterns in age differences shown in Fig. 4 are not necessarily what might be expected. The youngest group in this study is [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54], whom are all of working age and therefore likely to be at work, with most UK workers spending their time stationary [54] particularly for office workers [55], [56]. It could be expected that this group would generate the least power, as they spend a majority of the time sitting at a desk with little periodic movement and therefore little energy generation. ...
Energy harvesting from human motion can reduce reliance on battery recharging in wearable Internet of Things (IoT) devices. However, to date, studies estimating energy harvesting potential have largely focused on small scale, healthy, population groups in laboratory settings rather than free-living environments with population level participant numbers. Here, we present the largest ever investigation into energy harvesting potential by utilising the activity data collected in the UK Biobank from over 67,000 participants. This paper presents detailed stratification into how the day of the week and participant age affect harvesting potential, as well as how the presence of conditions (such as diabetes, which we investigate here) may affect the expected energy harvester output. We process accelerometery data using a kinetic energy harvester model to investigate power output at a high temporal resolution. Our results identify key differences between the times of day when the power is available and an inverse relationship between power output and participant age. We also identify that the presence of diabetes substantially reduces energy harvesting output, by over 21%. The results presented highlight a key challenge in IoT and wearable energy harvesting: that wearable devices aim to monitor health and wellness, and energy harvesting aims to make devices more energy autonomous, but the presence of medical conditions may lead to substantially lower energy harvesting potential. The findings indicate how it is challenging to meet the required power budget to monitor diseases when energy autonomy is a goal.
... Office work is generally characterised by prolonged periods of SB and contributes significantly to the overall sedentary time of workers [3]. Sedentary activities have been shown to comprise 65-82% of time at work in industrialised countries [3][4][5] with a large proportion (54-77%) of office workers' total daily sitting time occurring during their working day [5][6][7]. Due to this high prevalence, occupational sitting has become an emergent workplace health issue [8]. ...
... Office work is generally characterised by prolonged periods of SB and contributes significantly to the overall sedentary time of workers [3]. Sedentary activities have been shown to comprise 65-82% of time at work in industrialised countries [3][4][5] with a large proportion (54-77%) of office workers' total daily sitting time occurring during their working day [5][6][7]. Due to this high prevalence, occupational sitting has become an emergent workplace health issue [8]. ...
Background
Office work generally consists of high amounts of sedentary behaviour (SB) which has been associated with negative health consequences. We developed the “WorktivIty” mobile app to help office workers reduce their SB through self-monitoring and feedback on sedentary time, prompts to break sedentary time, and educational facts. The aim of this paper is to report the feasibility of delivering the Worktivity intervention to desk-based office workers in the workplace setting and describe methodological considerations for a future trial.
Methods
We conducted a three-arm feasibility cluster randomised controlled pilot study over an 8-week period with full time-desk based employees. Clustered randomisation was to one of three groups: Worktivity mobile app (MA; n = 20), Worktivity mobile app plus SSWD (MA+SSWD; n = 20), or Control (C; n = 16). Feasibility was assessed using measures of recruitment and retention, intervention engagement, intervention delivery, completion rates and usable data, adverse events, and acceptability.
Results
Recruitment of companies to participate in this study was challenging (8% of those contacted), but retention of individual participants within the recruited groups was high (81% C, 90% MA + SSWD, 95% MA). Office workers’ engagement with the app was moderate (on average 59%). Intervention delivery was partially compromised due to diminishing user engagement and technical issues related to educational fact delivery. Sufficient amounts of useable data were collected, however either missing or unusable data were observed with activPAL™, with data loss increasing at each follow up time point. No serious adverse events were identified during the study. The majority of participants agreed that the intervention could be implemented within the workplace setting (65% MA; 72% MA + SSWD) but overall satisfaction with the intervention was modest (58% MA; 39% MA + SSWD).
Conclusions
The findings suggest that, in principle, it is feasible to implement a mobile app-based intervention in the workplace setting however the Worktivity intervention requires further technical refinements before moving to effectiveness trials. Challenges relating to the initial recruitment of workplaces and maintaining user engagement with the mHealth intervention over time need to be addressed prior to future large-scale implementation. Further research is needed to identify how best to overcome these challenges.
... Between the hours of 00:00-05:00 there are very few differences between the groups, with all groups harvesting ≤ 25 µW. As in Fig. 3, the power begins to increase after 06:00, with the youngest age group (45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54) being the first to increase, followed by the second oldest (55-64), with the oldest two groups (65-74 and 75-79) following a similar pattern to each other until 10:00. For a brief period in the morning (09:00-10:30) three groups, 45-54, 55-64, and 65-74, display similar levels of power at just over 150 µW. ...
... 3) Variations Between Groups: Patterns in age differences shown in Fig. 4 are not necessarily what might be expected. Given the youngest group in this study is 45-54, whom are all of working age and therefore likely to be at work, with most UK workers spending their time stationary [48] particularly for office workers [49], [50], it could be expected that this group would generate the least power, as they spend a majority of the time sitting at a desk with little periodic movement and therefore little energy generation. This trend is not present, with all age groups up to 75 producing similar levels of energy in the morning (between approximately 8:00-12:00). ...
Energy harvesting from human motion can reduce reliance on battery recharging in wearable devices and lead to improved adherence. However, to date, studies estimating energy harvesting potential have largely focused on small scale, healthy, population groups in laboratory settings rather than free-living environments with population level participant numbers. Here, we present the largest scale investigation into energy harvesting potential by utilising the activity data collected in the UK Biobank from over 67,000 participants. This paper presents detailed stratification into how the day of the week and participant age affect harvesting potential, as well as how the presence of conditions (such as diabetes, which we investigate here), may affect the expected energy harvester output. We process accelerometery data using a kinetic energy harvester model to investigate power output at a high temporal resolution. Our results identify key differences between the times of day when the power is available and an inverse relationship between power output and participant age. We also identify that the presence of diabetes substantially reduces energy harvesting output, by over 21%. The results presented highlight a key challenge in wearable energy harvesting: that wearable devices aim to monitor health and wellness, and energy harvesting aims to make devices more energy autonomous, but the presence of medical conditions may lead to substantially lower energy harvesting potential. The findings indicate how it is challenging to meet the required power budget to monitor diseases when energy autonomy is a goal.
... Between the hours of 00:00-05:00 there are very few differences between the groups, with all groups harvesting ≤ 25 µW. As in Fig. 3, the power begins to increase after 06:00, with the youngest age group (45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54) being the first to increase, followed by the second oldest (55-64), with the oldest two groups (65-74 and 75-79) following a similar pattern to each other until 10:00. For a brief period in the morning (09:00-10:30) three groups, 45-54, 55-64, and 65-74, display similar levels of power at just over 150 µW. ...
... 3) Variations Between Groups: Patterns in age differences shown in Fig. 4 are not necessarily what might be expected. Given the youngest group in this study is 45-54, whom are all of working age and therefore likely to be at work, with most UK workers spending their time stationary [48] particularly for office workers [49], [50], it could be expected that this group would generate the least power, as they spend a majority of the time sitting at a desk with little periodic movement and therefore little energy generation. This trend is not present, with all age groups up to 75 producing similar levels of energy in the morning (between approximately 8:00-12:00). ...
Energy harvesting from human motion can reduce reliance on battery recharging in wearable devices and lead to improved adherence. However, to date, studies estimating energy harvesting potential have largely focused on small scale, healthy, population groups in laboratory settings rather than free-living environments with population level participant numbers. Here, we present the largest scale investigation into energy harvesting potential by utilising the activity data collected in the UK Biobank from over 67,000 participants. This paper presents detailed stratification into how the day of the week and participant age affect harvesting potential, as well as how the presence of conditions (such as diabetes, which we investigate here), may affect the expected energy harvester output. We process accelerometery data using a kinetic energy harvester model to investigate power output at a high temporal resolution. Our results identify key differences between the times of day when the power is available and an inverse relationship between power output and participant age. We also identify that the presence of diabetes substantially reduces energy harvesting output, by over 21%. The results presented highlight a key challenge in wearable energy harvesting: that wearable devices aim to monitor health and wellness, and energy harvesting aims to make devices more energy autonomous, but the presence of medical conditions may lead to substantially lower energy harvesting potential. The findings indicate how it is challenging to meet the required power budget to monitor diseases when energy autonomy is a goal.
... These findings imply that, compared with other occupations, clerks may be more likely to accumulate fewer steps/day and experience a relatively larger decrease in steps/day. Considering previous studies predicted that insufficient PA and prolonged sitting would increase in office settings due to technological advancements, 26,27 our findings suggest that clerks should be a pressing target for workplace health promotion initiatives focused on PA. Moreover, since clerks represent one of the most common occupations among Japanese workers, 28 there is a strong case for prioritizing workplace health promotion for this group. ...
Background : Accumulating more steps/day provides considerable health benefits; however, studies of steps/day trends among a working population are quite limited. Moreover, steps/day trends may differ among occupations. We aimed to assess changes in steps/day by occupations in the Japanese working population. Methods : Workers aged 20–65 years were identified from the Japanese National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2001 and 2019. Steps/day were assessed using a pedometer. Occupations with or without income were categorized as professionals, managers, and clerks; sales workers, service workers, protective service workers, and agricultural/forestry/fishery workers; transport/machine operators; manufacturing/construction/cleaning laborers; homemakers; and unemployed individuals. Steps/day per decade were compiled for 2001–2010 and 2011–2019, and differences in age-adjusted steps/day between 2001–2010 and 2011–2019 were evaluated by an analysis of covariance. Results : A total of 105,492 workers among occupational categories were analyzed. Changes in age-adjusted steps/day (95% CI) per decade among occupations with income ranged from −873 (−1426 to −321) to 352 (−19 to 722) while those for homemakers and the unemployed ranged from −766 (−875 to −677) to −659 (−890 to −429). Only transport/machine operators did not reduce their steps/day (Δ = 352 [−19 to 722]); all other occupations significantly decreased their steps/day. Among occupations with income, the largest decrease was observed in protective service workers, followed by clerks. Moreover, clerks remained the occupational group with the lowest amount of steps/day in both periods. Conclusions : Most included occupations reduced their steps/day, and the degree of change varied widely among occupations. Further promotion of steps/day is warranted, especially for clerks.
... These data points can be extrapolated to determine the total available energy due to walking motion as a function of the space occupancy and steps per hour per occupant. Clemes et al. [38] have shown that the mean step count for office workers during a workday is on the order of 4000 steps, which can be translated to 500 steps per hour assuming an 8 h work day. With these data points, the available walking resource can be extrapolated on the order of 500 J/h per occupant, or roughly 1.1 Wh per occupant per day. ...
The present work provides a framework for the comprehensive assessment of energy-harvesting resources in buildings, encompassing environmental, anthropogenic, and recyclable sources. A review of resources and state-of-the-art energy-harvesting technologies is presented, including an outlook on the future theoretical limitations of their performance. The assessment framework is applied to a case-study commercial building located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The available resources are categorized into three orders of magnitude with respect to achievable power generation, with solar and wind in the first tier, elevator potential and fitness centres in the second tier, and sources including vibrations, occupant traffic, and thermoelectric conversion in the third. Situated in a mid-rise context, the total annual resource magnitude is found to be eight times greater than the building demand. However, only an overall 10% of the available resource is converted with the harvesting applications and efficiencies considered, resulting in a net energy deficit. It is shown that with maximum theoretical efficiencies, the conversion rate can reach 30% resulting in 151% surplus electrical generation for the building in question.
... Consistent with previous research (46,196), participants in our study were also motivated to use the sit-stand desk because of the perceived benefits to musculoskeletal health, such as reduced chronic lower back pain due to the extended sitting time in the various domains of sedentary behaviour. The occupationrelated sitting contributed the most to overall daily sitting, a finding that has been observed in a number of systematic reviews investigating the sedentary behaviours of office workers (197). Participants were also encouraged to use the workstations because of the incidental ergonomic intervention provided by the researchers during the initial setup of the workstations and continued engagement throughout the study. ...
... In recent years, there has been an increased move from looking at patterns and accumulation of physical behaviour over the waking day to considering behaviour over the full 24 h day [1]. However, while there has been research investigating the relationship between physical activity and specific postures (lying, sitting, and upright) [2][3][4][5][6][7][8], there has been an absence of studies looking at the relationship between daily activity level and the pattern of these activities throughout the entire day. ...
This study investigated the relationship between stepping-defined daily activity levels, time spent in different postures, and the patterns and intensities of stepping behaviour. Using a thigh-mounted triaxial accelerometer, physical activity data from 3547 participants with seven days of valid data were analysed. We classified days based on step count and quantified posture and stepping behaviour, distinguishing between indoor, community, and recreation stepping. The results indicated significant differences in time spent in upright (2.5 to 8.9 h, p < 0.05), lying (8.0 to 9.1 h, p < 0.05), and sedentary (7.0 to 13.0 h, p < 0.05) postures across activity levels. At higher daily activity levels (10,000–15,000 steps), individuals tended to spend approximately equal time in each posture (8 h lying, 8 h sitting, and 8 h upright). The study found that at lower stepping-defined activity levels, step volumes were driven primarily by indoor stepping, while at higher activity levels, outdoor and recreation stepping were larger contributors. Additionally, stepping classified as indoor had significantly slower cadences compared to outdoor stepping. These findings suggest that the composition and intensity of stepping behaviours vary significantly with daily activity volumes, providing insights that could enhance public health messaging and interventions aimed at promoting physical activity.
... Groups at the highest risk for prolonged workplace sitting include males [21] and white-collar employees [22]. Clemes et al. [23] also note that office workers who spend most of their day in a seated position report prolonged sitting outside of work, which means that they do not compensate for their sedentary work life with increased physical activity. Low physical activity at work is a crucial factor contributing to the risk of obesity [24]. ...
The increasing prevalence of adult obesity is a major global health problem. Causes include sedentary lifestyles and physical inactivity, as well as the place and style of work. This work aimed to assess the impact of an increase in BMI, resulting from a sedentary lifestyle, on the functioning of the human musculoskeletal system during daily activities. Standing and sitting down were analyzed using numerical simulations in the AnyBody Modeling System. The results showed that by 2050, an increase in body weight will lead to an 11% increase in lumbar spine loads and up to 14% increase in knee and hip joint loads compared to 2015. Increased body weight will also increase muscle fatigue, requiring the body to exert more force to perform the same activities. The BMI change prediction model shows that the average man will be overweight or obese in the coming years, which will likely increase musculoskeletal loads.
... Therefore, while at work taking frequent steps and walk or standing and moving the joints can be beneficial in reducing the risk of development of DM by growing surge of energy utilization. 11 Among diabetics 54% had family history of DM, while 32% prediabetic also had family history of DM. The relationship of diabetics and nondiabetics with family history is highly significant in both groups which is similar to the already established finding that incidence of diabetes is pretty much higher among individuals having diabetic first-degree relative than that of individuals without a positive family history. ...
Objectives: A screening survey using glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) as the screening tool, was conducted amid OGDCL employees across Pakistan to evaluate the occurrence of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Methodology: This study included employees aged ≥ 40 years working at OGDCL's Head Office and various Oil Fields across Pakistan, all of whom subjected to HbA1c testing. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Categorical variables were summarized as frequencies and percentages, with data presented graphically using bar charts. Chi-square tests were used to compare characteristics across three groups: non-diabetes, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. A significance level of p≤0.05 indicated significance, while p≤0.01 was considered highly significant. Results: A total of 8689 participants were recruited in our study. Out of which 66.26% were non- diabetic and the prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes was found to be 12.3% and 21.5% respectively. In our study 34.7% of the participants had family history of diabetes. In diabetic people percentage (54%) of having family history of diabetes was high as compared to the non-diabetics (29%) and pre-diabetics (32.1%) individuals which created a substantial variance between the three groups. (p=0.001) Majority 94.8% of the study participants never smoked, 3.3% were current smokers and 1.9% had history of smoking. The prevalence of current smokers was high (6.1%) in pre-diabetes as compared to the diabetes (2.0%) and non-diabetes (3.2%). A strong significant association was observed between smoking and pre-diabetes. (p=0.0001) In our study prevalence of hypertension among pre-diabetes and diabetes was 21% and 20% respectively. (p=0.738) The majority 57.8% of the participants in our study was overweight and the prevalence of obese was 10.7%. (p=0.001) Conclusions: In OGDCL, there is much higher incidence of type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes as was previously thought. Comprehensive approaches are required to be established to integrate screening, prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes both at primary and secondary health care levels, at Head Office and Oil Fields. This is necessary not only for intensification of the workout put but also to cut down the medical budget.
... A redução do trabalho físico tem comprometido a AP e essa mudança em direção a um estilo de vida mais sedentário é prejudicial para o indivíduo e potencialmente caro para a sociedade (Boraita, 2008). Clemes et al. (2014) adicionam que o sedentarismo atua praticamente como fator independente de muitos indicadores negativos de saúde. Alguns autores mostram a associação entre longos períodos de tempo sentado com a obesidade (Brown et al., 2005;Hu et al., 2003), alguns tipos de câncer (Gierach et al., 2009), diabetes tipo 2 e síndrome metabólica Hu et al., 2003) (Barreto et al., 2005). ...
O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar diferenças em indicadores metabólicos e no dispêndio energético entre duas modalidades de aulas de grupo em academias: Ginástica Aeróbica (GA) e Ginástica Localizada (GL). A amostra foi constituída por 15 mulheres adultas com idades entre 24 e 51 anos (33,3±8,3 anos) e com experiência mínima de 6 meses de prática nas referidas modalidades. Para caracterização da amostra, a estatura e a massa corporal foram medidas e a percentagem de massa gorda foi avaliada por densitometria óssea de dupla energia (Dual Energy X-ray Absormetry, DEXA). O consumo máximo de oxigênio (VO2max) e a frequência cardíaca máxima (FCmax) foram medidos diretamente durante um teste de esforço máximo em tapete rolante. Durante as duas sessões de exercício (GA e GL), frequência cardíaca (FC), consumo de oxigênio (VO2), coeficiente respiratório (CR), equivalentes metabólicos (MET), percentagens de utilização de gorduras (%GORD) e de carboidratos (%CHO), e o dispêndio energético (DE) foram avaliados por calorimetria indireta através de um ergoespirômetro portátil (K4b2, Cosmed, Itália). Para analisar as diferenças entre as duas modalidades de exercício, o Teste T de Student para amostras emparelhadas foi utilizado com um nível de significância estabelecido em 5%. Os resultados indicam que os valores foram estatisticamente superiores na sessão de GA em comparação com GL nas seguintes variáveis: VO2 (35.7±4.7 vs. 20.2±3.4 ml.kg-1.min-1; P<0.001), FC (160.9±13.2 vs. 133.9±19.4 bpm;
P<0.001); MET (10.2±1.3 vs. 5.8±1.0 MET; P<0.001), DE (608.9±73.7 vs. 350.3±64.5
kcal.h-1; P<0.001), total de GORD (5.6±4.6 vs. 2.7±2.0 g.h-1; P<0.001), total de CHO (139.9±14.1 vs. 81.6±16.5 g.h-1; P<0.001). Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas no CR, na %GORD e na %CHO na comparação entre GA e GL. Na sessão de GA, %CHO foi superior a %GORD (92.3±6.2 vs. 7.9±6.4%; P<0.001). Na sessão de GL, %CHO foi também superior a %GORD (92.9±5.4 vs. 7.2±5.5%; P<0.001). Estes resultados sugerem que a aula de GA provoca uma exigência metabólica e de dispêndio energético muito maior que a GL. Contudo, as duas modalidades equivalem-se na percentagem de utilização de gorduras e carboidratos, sendo os carboidratos a principal fonte energética para as duas modalidades.
... These factors are associated with high occupational stress (G. R. Kim et al., 2017) and unhealthy behaviors (Tiainen et al., 2013;Vásquez et al., 2016), such as lack of physical activity due to sedentary and demanding work (Clemes et al., 2014) and irregular dietary habits due to time constraints (Hong et al., 2015). Poor health behaviors and high occupational stress are associated with cardio-cerebrovascular health concerns (Ryu et al., 2018), ...
Objective
Cardio‐cerebrovascular disease is the major cause of work‐related deaths. Salutogenesis indicates individual differences in health levels occur owing to differences in the sense of coherence (SOC). A salutogenesis‐based intervention may promote cardio‐cerebrovascular health at work. This study examined the effects of a SOC promotion program based on salutogenesis.
Design
Quasi‐experimental study.
Sample
Fifty‐six office workers who were above the “low risk” of cardio‐cerebrovascular disease from two workplaces were included in the final analysis.
Measurements
Data collected pre‐ and postintervention. To determine the intervention's effectiveness, repeated‐measures analysis of variance was used.
Intervention
The intervention group was provided with the SOC promotion program, whereas the control group was provided with educational materials alone for 12 weeks.
Results
Generalized resistance resources (GRRs; knowledge of cardio‐cerebrovascular disease prevention, stress‐coping strategies, and social support) and SOC significantly improved in the intervention group. The intervention group showed significant improvements in occupational stress, physical activity, dietary behavior, total cholesterol level, fasting glucose level, hemoglobin A1C level, body mass index, waist circumference, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, and cardio‐cerebrovascular risk.
Conclusions
Systematic salutogenesis‐based SOC promotion programs should be established to enhance the cardio‐cerebrovascular health of office workers at‐risk of cardio‐cerebrovascular diseases.
Trial Registration
Trial Registration Number is KCT0007029. The date of registration is February 23, 2022.
... During the office workday sedentary time increases, characterized by prolonged static posture such as sitting (7,8). Workers spend nearly twothirds of their average daily working time in sitting (9). During sitting, office workers may adopt a fixed malposture characterized by twisting or bending their back (4,6). ...
Purpose The aim of this study was to perform the Turkish cross-cultural adaptation of the Postural Awareness Scale and test its reliability and validity on office workers. Methods Approval was obtained from the author, who developed the original scale. Then, forward and backward translations of the scale were performed. After that, the final version of the scale was developed and introduced to all the participants. The internal consistency and construct validity of the scale was assessed with internal consistency analysis, explanatory and confirmatory analyses. Results The Turkish version of the Postural Awareness Scale, consisting of eleven items, had satisfactory reliability (total α score = .854, factor 1 score = .886, factor 2 score = .777). The reliability of the scale was confirmed by the test-retest analysis performed with a two-week interval as well (r = .831). In explanatory factor analysis, twelfth item was loaded on both factors. In confirmatory factor analysis, factor load of the 12th item was low (0.21). Conclusion The Turkish version of the Postural Awareness Scale, consisting of eleven items, is a reliable and valid scale for the assessment of postural awareness in office workers.
... Отримані дані щодо збільшення у віковому аспекті обвідних розмірів талії, гомілки чоловіків протя гом періоду 36-40 та 41-45 років певною мірою узгод жуються з наявними у вітчизняній літературі [3; 5; 8]. Як зазначається у цьому зв'язку, важливим є розуміння того, що тривале сидіння спричиняє ризик виникнення хронічних захворювань, а недостатня фізична актив ність на робочому місці та за його межами можна розглядати як корисну інформацію для усунення недо ліків і визначення ефективних заходів [12]. ...
The analysis and synthesis of professional scientific and methodological literature, tangent to the problem of the proposed research, has highlighted the scientific community’s development of a number of theories to confirm the expediency of positioning a person’s posture not only as a simple static arrangement of various body biolanks, but above all as the foundation of human health and the basis of human well-being. In general, postural stability can be considered as its ability to persist and remain qualitatively unchanged in response to interference or fluctuations (including postural fluctuations) in control. Monitoring the state of posture is a very important and basic requirement in everyday life. The purpose of the article is to study the age-related changes in the physical development indicators of men 36-45 years old with a round back. Research methods. theoretical analysis of literary sources, anthropometry, pedagogical experiment, mathematical statistics. Results of work. The study showed that despite some differences in body length, body weight and body mass index in favor of men 36-40 years and in the indicators of circumferential hip size in favor of men 41-45 years, statistically significant differences between them are not proven (p > 0.05). At the same time, it was established that the circumferential waist sizes of men 41-45 years old are 3.63 cm (only 4.7 %) statistically significant (p < 0.05) more than in men 36-40 years old. And, as with the bypass dimensions of the lower leg, which is 8.24 % statistically significant (p < 0.05) predominates in men 41-45 years old. Conclusions. Summarizing the above, it should be emphasized that in men 36-45 years old there is excessive body weight. At the same time, a trend was recorded according to which the circumferential dimensions of the waist and lower leg increase in men with age.
... Office workers who sat during working hours also sat for longer periods outside work. 15 Thus, work-related sitting, occupying most of the day, could impact the health of long-term workers, emphasizing the need to consider PA both at and off work. ...
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between physical activity (PA) and locomotive syndrome (LS) among young and middle-aged Japanese workers.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 335 participants from a company in Kumamoto, Japan.
LS was evaluated using the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25); a GLFS-25 score ≥7 was defined as LS. Weekly PA was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Work-related PA (time spent sitting, standing, walking, and strenuous work per day) and sedentary breaks were measured using a Work-related Physical Activity Questionnaire. Screen usage (television [TV], smartphones, tablets, and personal computers) during leisure time was recorded. The association between PA and LS was examined using a multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, history of musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, stroke, occupation, employment type, work time, shift system, employment status, and body pain.
Results: A total of 149 participants had LS. Fewer sedentary breaks during work (>70-minute intervals [odds ratio {OR}: 2.96]; prolonged sitting [OR: 4.12]) and longer TV viewing time (≥ 180 minutes [OR: 3.02]) were significantly associated with LS. In contrast, moderate PA (OR: 0.75) was significantly associated with a lower risk of LS.
Conclusions: Fewer sedentary breaks during work and longer TV viewing time could increase the risk of LS in young and middle-aged Japanese workers.
... In the case of the United States, workers tend to spend between 50 -70% of their day in one posture (Matthews et al. 2008). Office workers are exposed to 65% of their shift in prolonged sitting, which shows how common sedentary jobs are today (Clemes et al. 2014). The nature of sedentary work tasks corresponds to 43% of all jobs and is mostly found in the service industry (Brierley et al. 2019). ...
... Over 1.9 billion adults were overweight, and over 600 million were obese in 2014 [85]. Obesity is a significant global health challenge [86][87][88][89] and requires considerable healthcare resources to manage and prevent associated complications [90][91][92][93]. However, it is a modifiable disease [94,95], and multicomponent behavioral interventions have been shown to significantly affect weight loss and obesity-related complications in adults [96][97][98][99]. ...
Background
Implementing workplace preventive interventions reduces occupational accidents and injuries, as well as the negative consequences of those accidents and injuries. Online occupational safety and health training is one of the most effective preventive interventions. This study aims to present current knowledge on e-training interventions, make recommendations on the flexibility, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness of online training, and identify research gaps and obstacles.
Method
All studies that addressed occupational safety and health e-training interventions designed to address worker injuries, accidents, and diseases were chosen from PubMed and Scopus until 2021. Two independent reviewers conducted the screening process for titles, abstracts, and full texts, and disagreements on the inclusion or exclusion of an article were resolved by consensus and, if necessary, by a third reviewer. The included articles were analyzed and synthesized using the constant comparative analysis method.
Result
The search identified 7,497 articles and 7,325 unique records. Following the title, abstract, and full-text screening, 25 studies met the review criteria. Of the 25 studies, 23 were conducted in developed and two in developing countries. The interventions were carried out on either the mobile platform, the website platform, or both. The study designs and the number of outcomes of the interventions varied significantly (multi-outcomes vs. single-outcome). Obesity, hypertension, neck/shoulder pain, office ergonomics issues, sedentary behaviors, heart disease, physical inactivity, dairy farm injuries, nutrition, respiratory problems, and diabetes were all addressed in the articles.
Conclusion
According to the findings of this literature study, e-trainings can significantly improve occupational safety and health. E-training is adaptable, affordable, and can increase workers’ knowledge and abilities, resulting in fewer workplace injuries and accidents. Furthermore, e-training platforms can assist businesses in tracking employee development and ensuring that training needs are completed. Overall, this analysis reveals that e-training has enormous promise in the field of occupational safety and health for both businesses and employees.
... The sitting position is maintained for about twothirds of the time during 8 hours of work [3]. In addi-tion, many societies have an increasing trend towards a sedentary lifestyle. ...
Purpose:
The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced physical activity and increased the time spent sitting. Combined with the lack of ergonomics at home workplaces, the risk of discomfort has increased, especially around the cervical spine and upper limbs. Evaluation of the mentioned problem is the subject of the study.
Methods:
The study used an original questionnaire based on the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The analysis used responses from people who reported discomfort in the form of tingling or numbness in the cervical spine, shoulder, elbow and wrist during the pandemic. Statistical analysis of the results was carried out to formulate conclusions. In addition, individual data were presented as percentages.
Results:
Considering the working time exceeding 8 hours a day, discomfort in the wrist joint area was most often reported among people working remotely (15.1%). Shoulder complex discomfort was the most common symptom (22%) reported by people working more than 8 hours a day, under the age of 31. In young people, the risk of discomfort in the shoulder, hand and cervical spine area increased.
Conclusions:
Extended working time is conducive to the appearance of symptoms within the hands. In future studies, it will be necessary to analyze the ergonomic factors responsible for this phenomenon.
... Studies have shown that achieving the recommended levels of moderate-vigorous physical activity (e.g., 150 min/week) may not counteract an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. Prolonged sedentarism (e.g., office work) can still have a negative impact on health despite exercise, thus time spent sedentary is justified as a separate measure (Clemes et al., 2014;González-Gross & Meléndez, 2013). ...
Introduction : The COVID-19 lockdown introduced restrictions to free-living activities. Changes to these activities can be accurately quantified using combined measurement. Using activPAL3 and self-reports to collect activity data, the study aimed to quantify changes that occurred in physical activity and sedentary behavior between prelockdown and lockdown. The study also sought to determine changes in indoor and outdoor stepping. Methods : Using activPAL3, four participants recorded physical activity data prelockdown and during lockdown restrictions (February–June 2020). Single events (sitting, standing, stepping, lying) were recorded and analyzed by the CREA algorithm using an event-based approach. The analysis focused on step count, sedentary time, and lying (in bed) time; median and interquartile range were calculated. Daily steps classified as taking place indoors and outdoors were calculated separately. Results : 33 prelockdown and 92 in-lockdown days of valid data were captured. Median daily step count across all participants reduced by 14.8% (from 5,828 prelockdown to 4,963 in-lockdown), while sedentary and lying time increased by 4% and 8%, respectively (sedentary: 9.98–10.30 hr; lying: 9.33–10.05 hr). Individual variations were observed in hours spent sedentary (001: 8.44–8.66, 002: 7.41–8.66, 003: 11.97–10.59, 004: 6.29–7.94, and lying (001: 9.69–9.49, 002: 11.46–11.66, 003: 7.63–9.34, 004: 9.7–11.12) pre- and in-lockdown. Discrepancies in self-report versus algorithm classification of indoor/outdoor stepping were observed for three participants. Conclusion : The study quantitively showed lockdown restrictions negatively impacted physical activity and sedentary behavior; two variables closely linked to health outcomes. This has important implications for public health policies to help develop targeted interventions and mandates that encourage additional physical activity and lower sedentary behavior.
... At baseline, the sample accumulated 8583 steps per day, which is comparable to daily step counts recorded previously in a sample of UK-based HGV drivers, 36 and to daily step counts seen in office-based workers. 127 The complete-case analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in mean daily step counts at 6 months' follow-up, in favour of the SHIFT group, with this group accumulating 1008 more steps per day than the control group. The findings showed a similar pattern in the sensitivity analyses (examining the effect of the number of valid activPAL days), although the results were mixed in the ITT and per-protocol analyses. ...
Background
Long-distance heavy goods vehicle drivers are exposed to a multitude of risk factors associated with their occupation. The working environment of heavy goods vehicle drivers provides limited opportunities for a healthy lifestyle, and, consequently, heavy goods vehicle drivers exhibit higher than nationally representative rates of obesity and obesity-related comorbidities, and are underserved in terms of health promotion initiatives.
Objective
The aim of this trial was to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the multicomponent Structured Health Intervention For Truckers (SHIFT) programme, compared with usual care, at both 6 months and 16–18 months.
Design
A two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial, including a cost-effectiveness analysis and process evaluation.
Setting
Transport depots throughout the Midlands region of the UK.
Participants
Heavy goods vehicle drivers.
Intervention
The 6-month SHIFT programme included a group-based interactive 6-hour education session, health coach support and equipment provision [including a Fitbit ® (Fitbit Inc., San Francisco, CA, US) and resistance bands/balls to facilitate a ‘cab workout’]. Clusters were randomised following baseline measurements to either the SHIFT arm or the control arm.
Main outcome measures
Outcome measures were assessed at baseline, with follow-up assessments occurring at both 6 months and 16–18 months. The primary outcome was device-measured physical activity, expressed as mean steps per day, at 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included device-measured sitting, standing, stepping, physical activity and sleep time (on any day, workdays and non-workdays), along with adiposity, biochemical measures, diet, blood pressure, psychophysiological reactivity, cognitive function, functional fitness, mental well-being, musculoskeletal symptoms and work-related psychosocial variables. Cost-effectiveness and process evaluation data were collected.
Results
A total of 382 participants (mean ± standard deviation age: 48.4 ± 9.4 years; mean ± standard deviation body mass index: 30.4 kg/m ² ± 5.1 kg/m ² ; 99% male) were recruited across 25 clusters. Participants were randomised (at the cluster level) to either the SHIFT arm (12 clusters, n = 183) or the control arm (13 clusters, n = 199). At 6 months, 209 (54.7%) participants provided primary outcome data. Significant differences in mean daily steps were found between arms, with participants in the SHIFT arm accumulating 1008 more steps per day than participants in the control arm (95% confidence interval 145 to 1871 steps; p = 0.022), which was largely driven by the maintenance of physical activity levels in the SHIFT arm and a decline in physical activity levels in the control arm. Favourable differences at 6 months were also seen in the SHIFT arm, relative to the control arm, in time spent sitting, standing and stepping, and time in moderate or vigorous activity. No differences between arms were observed at 16–18 months’ follow-up. No differences were observed between arms in the other secondary outcomes at either follow-up (i.e. 6 months and 16–18 months). The process evaluation demonstrated that the intervention was well received by participants and that the intervention reportedly had a positive impact on their health behaviours. The average total cost of delivering the SHIFT programme was £369.57 per driver, and resulting quality-adjusted life-years were similar across trial arms (SHIFT arm: 1.22, 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.25; control arm: 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.22 to 1.27).
Limitations
A higher (31.4%) than anticipated loss to follow-up was experienced at 6 months, with fewer (54.7%) participants providing valid primary outcome data at 6 months. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a major confounding factor, which limits our ability to draw firm conclusions regarding the sustainability of the SHIFT programme.
Conclusion
The SHIFT programme had a degree of success in positively impacting physical activity levels and reducing sitting time in heavy goods vehicle drivers at 6-months; however, these differences were not maintained at 16–18 months.
Future work
Further work involving stakeholder engagement is needed to refine the content of the programme, based on current findings, followed by the translation of the SHIFT programme into a scalable driver training resource.
Trial registration
This trial is registered as ISRCTN10483894.
Funding
This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research ; Vol. 10, No. 12. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.
... The prevalence of sedentary behaviour has increased drastically in western countries within the last 50 years (Church et al., 2011;Archer et al., 2013), with young adults spending approximately 8.5 h daily in sedentary activities (Staiano et al., 2018) most of which are work-related (approx. 60% of total daily sitting time) (Clemes et al., 2014;Kazi et al., 2014). This is more accentuated in older adults, with reports showing that individuals over 60 years old spend more than 9.5 h per day being sedentary (Matthews et al., 2008;Sagelv et al., 2019). ...
The growing prevalence of physical inactivity in the population highlights the urgent need for a more comprehensive understanding of how sedentary behaviour affects health, the mechanisms involved and what strategies are effective in counteracting its negative effects. Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for different pathologies including atherosclerosis, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. It is known to progressively lead to reduced life expectancy and quality of life, and it is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide. Recent evidence indicates that uninterrupted prolonged sitting and short-term inactivity periods impair endothelial function (measured by flow-mediated dilation) and induce arterial structural alterations, predominantly in the lower body vasculature. Similar effects may occur in the cerebral vasculature, with recent evidence showing impairments in cerebral blood flow following prolonged sitting. The precise molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying inactivity-induced vascular dysfunction in humans are yet to be fully established, although evidence to date indicates that it may involve modulation of shear stress, inflammatory and vascular biomarkers. Despite the steady increase in sedentarism in our societies, only a few intervention strategies have been investigated for their efficacy in counteracting the associated vascular impairments. The current review provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence linking acute and short-term physical inactivity to detrimental effects on peripheral, central and cerebral vascular health in humans. We further examine the underlying molecular and physiological mechanisms and attempt to link these to long-term consequences for cardiovascular health. Finally, we summarize and discuss the efficacy of lifestyle interventions in offsetting the negative consequences of physical inactivity.
... Despite these findings, a sedentary lifestyle is an escalating epidemic. Most common occupations have become increasingly sedentary because of technological advancements, and particularly for office workers, workplace sitting patterns are largely responsible for decreases in light PA and increases in SB [10,11]. One study showed that highly educated office workers in the Netherlands spend less time in light PA and more time in SB than workers in other occupations [12], and a recent report found that Dutch workers sit on average for 10 hours per week day [13]. ...
Background: Sedentary behavior (SB) and lack of physical activity (PA) have been associated with poorer health outcomes and are increasingly prevalent in individuals working in sedentary occupations such as office jobs. Gamification and nudges have attracted attention as promising strategies to promote changes in health behavior. However, most effectiveness studies thus far lacked active controls, and few studies have tested interventions combining these strategies.
Objective: This study investigates the effectiveness of combining a gamified digital app with physical nudges to increase PA and reduce SB in Dutch office workers.
Methods: Employees in the municipality of Rotterdam (N=298) from two office locations were randomized at the location level to either a 10-week intervention, combining a 5-week gamification phase encompassing a gamified digital app with social support features and a 5-week physical nudges phase, or to an active control (ie, basic digital app with self-monitoring and goal setting). The primary outcome was the daily step count, objectively measured via accelerometers. Secondary outcomes were self-reported PA and SB measured at baseline and at 5, 10, and 14 weeks. Mixed effects models were used to analyze the effects of the intervention on the outcome measures.
Results: A total of 78.5% (234/298) of participants completed the study and provided accelerometer data, whereas 36.9% (110/298) participants completed the self-report measures at 14 weeks. In the gamification phase, step count data were missing for 13.5% (473/3492) of observations in the control and 11.4% (445/3888) in the intervention condition; however, these percentages increased to 39.6% (1154/2910) and 59.6% (1932/3492) at follow-up, respectively. During the gamification phase, intervention participants increased their number of daily steps by 634 (95% CI 154.2-1113.8; P=.01) more than participants in the control group, after controlling for relevant factors. Improvements were not sustained during the physical nudges phase (P=.76) or follow-up (P=.88).
Conclusions: A digital intervention with gamification and social support features significantly increased the step count of office workers compared with an active control. Physical nudges in the workplace were insufficient to promote the maintenance of behavioral changes achieved in the gamification phase. Future research should explore the long-term effectiveness of similar gamified digital interventions.
Trial registration: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) 49129401; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN14881571.
... Self-reported sitting time in the workplace was high yet aligns with previous data. [6,7] Seven themes were developed including overall impressions of the heightadjustable sit-stand desks, motivation to experience the adjustable sit-stand desks, enablers of standing work using an adjustable sit-stand desk, use of sit-stand workstations, sitting versus standing, obstacles to using the adjustable sit-stand desk in the standing position, readiness to continue using sit-stand desks, and perceived behaviour modification. These themes are focused on healthy workplace behaviours and enhancements to occupational responsibilities, and they present an understanding of the way office workers perceive the promotion of interrupting sedentary time as essential. ...
Background:
Data from empirical investigations on the feasibility and acceptability of using sit-stand desks in an office-based setting in low- and middle-income settings are limited.
Objectives:
To explore the perceptions of South African office workers towards using height-adjustable sit-stand desks to reduce sitting time during vocational hours.
Methods:
Self-reported sedentary behaviour and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in December 2020. Thematic content analysis approach was used to develop themes.
Results:
Eleven office workers with a work-time sitting time of 8 (6-8) hours were interviewed (age 40.5 ± 12.6 years), most (91%) were female. The main themes emerged and included: overall impressions of the height-adjustable sit-stand desks; enablers versus barriers to using the desk and readiness to continue using sit-stand desks.
Conclusion:
The findings of this research add to the evidence on environmental workstation modifications for reducing sedentary behaviour. Further investigations on the efficacy of sit-stand desks are recommended in South African university office workers.
... Assessments of other sedentary occupations may assist in putting our findings into a broader context. In a study on 72 full-time office workers, participants averaged 435 SPH at work (Clemes et al., 2014). In another paper that analyzed PA at the workplace by occupational categories, 30 professionals (managers, administrators), and 30 white-collar workers (clerks, service workers) averaged 364 and 469 SPH, respectively (Steele & Mummery, 2003). ...
Background
Ophthalmology practice entails many hours of physical inactivity, a potential long-term health hazard. This study aims to perform a pedometer-based evaluation of the physical activity (PA) levels of ophthalmologists at work.
Methods
This is a prospective observational study. Ophthalmologists from a single tertiary medical center were monitored with electronic pedometers during six morning sessions in the ophthalmology clinics. Working hours and the number of patients seen per clinic session were retrieved. The age and body mass index (BMI) of participants were documented. Step number per working hour (SPH) was calculated for all participants. Comparisons between males and females, practicing ophthalmologists (attendings) and ophthalmology residents (residents), and sub-specialties were performed. Correlations between SPH and age, BMI, and patients seen per clinic session were computed.
Findings
Pedometer readings for a total of 673 working hours were analyzed for 24 ophthalmologists, 17% female, 17 attendings, mean age 44.2 years (standard deviation ( SD = 9.8). The average number of SPH for all participants was 359.7 ( SD = 166.7). The mean PA level of residents was significantly higher than that of attendings (410.17 SPH vs. 338.95 SPH, respectively, p = .019). Oculoplastic surgeons demonstrated significantly higher step counts per hour than cornea specialists (439.90 SPH vs. 245.55 SPH, respectively, p = .002). A negative correlation was observed between SPH and the number of patients seen per clinic session ( ρ = −0.274, p = .001).
Conclusions/Applications to Practice
Low number of SPH for ophthalmologists in this study indicates ophthalmology to be a highly sedentary medical occupation. PA levels of ophthalmologists in the workplace may indicate a personal health care challenge.
... Device-assessed sitting time revealed that this sample of drivers accumulated a median 12 hours of sitting on workdays (70.4% of valid waking wear time) and 10 hours on non-workdays (63.2% of valid waking wear time). This is higher than that observed in other occupations such as office workers who accumulate around 8.5 hours of sitting per workday and around 5.5 hours of sitting per non-workday [36]. A total sitting time of 11 hours per day (67.8% of valid waking wear time) is also much higher than that observed in the general population (9 hours per day) [37]. ...
Objective: Physical inactivity, prolonged sitting, and unhealthy dietary habits are common in Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers. These factors increase risk of long-term health conditions. Methods: 329 HGV drivers across 25 UK depots completed a health assessment, including questionnaire completion, and objectively measured anthropometrics, blood biomarkers, physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour. Results: The sample demonstrated a high-risk cardiometabolic health profile. 88.1% were overweight or had obesity, 11.9% had pre-diabetes or diabetes. 28.3% had hypertension, 83.6% had clinically elevated circulating LDL-cholesterol concentrations (>2mmol/l), and 66.6% had high total cholesterol levels (>4 mmol/l). On workdays drivers accumulated 12 hrs/day of sitting, 1.7 hrs/day of light PA (LPA) and 9.8 mins/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA. Associations between LPA and cardiometabolic markers were observed. Conclusion: This sample presents high levels of inactivity, overweight and obesity, and unhealthy cardiometabolic health profiles.
... Sedentary behavior is a growing public health concern worldwide. Particularly in developed nations, people sit 8.3 h a day on average on their way to work, at the office, or at home [1][2][3]. Professional drivers are even more vulnerable to prolonged and uninterrupted sedentary behavior. Most truck drivers in Europe use the maximum nonstop driving time of 4.5 h to remain competitive. ...
While it is generally recognized that prolonged sitting periods at work can harm the locomotor system, little attention has been paid to the impact of sitting behavior on muscle stiffness. This study investigated the effect of sitting posture and postural activity on lower back muscle stiffness in a controlled experiment in which participants sat at a desk for 4.5 h. Lower back muscle stiffness was measured before and after the sitting period. In addition, continuous recording of kinematic data of the lower back using an eight-camera motion analysis system was applied to quantify sitting posture and the level of postural activity. The results show that the prolonged sitting period led to a significant increase in muscle stiffness. Further, all participants spent a substantial amount of time in a slumped sitting posture, and the level of postural activity varied significantly throughout the 4.5 h sitting period. Those results suggest that the increase in lumbar muscle stiffness is presumably related to the often-preferred slump sitting posture and may help to understand how prolonged sitting periods can increase susceptibility to common pathological conditions such as low back pain. However, the results also leave some uncertainties that need further investigation.
... 31 High occupational sitters have also been shown to sit for longer outside of work compared with low occupational sitters which could further explain the positive association between the work domain and unhealthy behaviour score. 34 The negative associations between sitting while TV viewing and individual health behaviours found in this study have been reported elsewhere. Hamer et al. 35 analyzed 4000 adults from the 2003 Scottish Health Survey and found an inverse trend for physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake with those meeting the guidelines sitting less while watching TV or screen-based entertainment. ...
Background
There is a dearth of literature on how different domains of sitting time relate to other health behaviours. Therefore, this study aimed to explore these associations in a sample of office workers.
Methods
7170 Northern Irish Civil Servants completed an online survey which included information on workday and non-workday sitting time in five domains (travel, work, TV, computer-use, leisure-time), physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. An unhealthy behaviour score was calculated by summing the number of health behaviours which did not meet the current guidelines. Multinomial regressions examined associations between unhealthy behaviour score and each domain of sitting time.
Results
≥7 hours sitting at work and ≥2 hours TV viewing on a workday both more than doubled the odds of partaking in ≥3 unhealthy behaviours [Odds ratio, OR = 2.03, 95% CI, (1.59–2.61); OR = 2.19 (1.71–2.80)] and ≥3 hours of TV viewing on a non-workday nearly tripled the odds [OR = 2.96 (2.32–3.77)].
Conclusions
High sitting time at work and TV viewing on a workday and non-workday are associated with increased odds of partaking in multiple unhealthy behaviours. Interventions need to focus on these domains and public health policy should consider sitting time as an important health behaviour.
... Due to the rise of the information economy [11], occupations largely composed of sitting and office-based work, e.g., administration and customer services, have increased [12]. Furthermore, adults spend approximately 60% of their waking hours in the workplace [13,14] and an observational study suggests that office workers in England spend 63% of their total daily sitting time, sitting at work [15]. It is this recognition of the increasing prevalence of sedentary occupations and the contribution the workplace makes to the health risks associated with prolonged sitting that has highlighted the need for interventions to reduce workplace sitting time [16]. ...
Prolonged periods of sitting are associated with negative health outcomes, so the increase in sedentary jobs is a public health concern. Evaluation of interventions to reduce workplace sitting have suggested that participatory approaches may be more effective. This paper describes the use of co-production in four diverse organisations. Workshops with staff in each organisation were conducted to develop an organisation-specific strategy. The first workshop involved creative activities to encourage participants to develop innovative suggestions. The second workshop then developed a feasible and acceptable action plan. An ecological approach was used to consider behaviour change determinants at a range of different levels including intrapersonal, interpersonal, organisational, and environmental-level factors. 41 staff volunteered for workshops (seven in a small business, 16 in a charity, 15 in a local authority, and three in a large corporation). Of those, 27 were able to attend the first workshops and 16 were able to attend the second. Whilst there were some similarities across organisations, the smaller organisations developed a more tailored and innovative strategy than large organisations where there were more barriers to change and a more diverse workforce. Co-production resulted in bespoke interventions, tailored for different organisational contexts, maximising their potential feasibility and acceptability.
... Sedentariness, which involves prolonged sitting or reclining, is a common phenomenon in workplaces, schools, homes, and communities [1]. For example, office workers spend most of their working hours sitting [2], students exhibit sedentary behaviour (SB) due to academic-related activities (e.g., studying, working on computers, sitting in class, etc.) [3], commuters spend hours sitting in cars or buses especially in traffic-prone areas. In addition, many adults watch television for hours [4]. ...
Increased physical activity has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality among adults. Over the years, mobile apps have been developed to encourage people to engage in physical activity, such as walking or running, by employing various persuasive strategies. However, the choice of these strategies is often based on designers' intuition without knowing if the strategies will be effective for target audience and the target behaviour. To address this gap, we conduct a study with 103 adults to assess the perceived effectiveness of 12 widely used strategies in health games design. The strategies are based on the Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) framework. Our results reveal that the strategies are effective for promoting physical activity at varying degrees. These results inform the development of the game, called TreeCare. Next, we conduct a 3-week field study involving 23 target users to evaluate the game in terms of effectiveness and usability. Our results show that TreeCare significantly improved users' physical activity levels. In addition, the game is found to be easy to use, engaging, aesthetically pleasing, and enjoyable. We reflect on our findings and offer practical guidelines to inform the design of effective and usable persuasive applications.
... Large number of workers' steps on office environments seems to be in workplace outside to working meetings or when they take breaks (Spinney et al., 2015) as well as in the time-slot between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. during UK typical lunch hours (Smith et al., 2015). It has been shown that UK office-based workers spend more than 60% of their time at work sitting followed by standing, and then stepping (Clemes et al., 2014;Smith et al., 2015). This overall suggests that office environment norms and infrastructure should address the sedentary behaviours and promote workplace interventions that reduce the occupational sitting time and encourage to be more physically active, and thus improve mental health outcomes. ...
This report explores multiple strategies and control measures for preventing or limiting the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in indoor office workplaces. It has been commissioned by Savile Row Projects Ltd to ensure that, in collaboration with its clients and supply chain, its work on the design, installation and operation of office interiors is executed in light of what is known about the disease. The background study on which this report is based focuses on three areas of advice: clinical, behavioural and built environment.
... Despite these findings, a sedentary lifestyle is an escalating epidemic. Most common occupations have become increasingly sedentary because of technological advancements, and particularly for office workers, workplace sitting patterns are largely responsible for decreases in light PA and increases in SB [10,11]. One study showed that highly educated office workers in the Netherlands spend less time in light PA and more time in SB than workers in other occupations [12], and a recent report found that Dutch workers sit on average for 10 hours per week day [13]. ...
Background
Sedentary behavior (SB) and lack of physical activity (PA) have been associated with poorer health outcomes and are increasingly prevalent in individuals working in sedentary occupations such as office jobs. Gamification and nudges have attracted attention as promising strategies to promote changes in health behavior. However, most effectiveness studies thus far lacked active controls, and few studies have tested interventions combining these strategies.
Objective
This study investigates the effectiveness of combining a gamified digital app with physical nudges to increase PA and reduce SB in Dutch office workers.
Methods
Employees in the municipality of Rotterdam (N=298) from two office locations were randomized at the location level to either a 10-week intervention, combining a 5-week gamification phase encompassing a gamified digital app with social support features and a 5-week physical nudges phase, or to an active control (ie, basic digital app with self-monitoring and goal setting). The primary outcome was the daily step count, objectively measured via accelerometers. Secondary outcomes were self-reported PA and SB measured at baseline and at 5, 10, and 14 weeks. Mixed effects models were used to analyze the effects of the intervention on the outcome measures.
ResultsA total of 78.5% (234/298) of participants completed the study and provided accelerometer data, whereas 36.9% (110/298) participants completed the self-report measures at 14 weeks. In the gamification phase, step count data were missing for 13.5% (473/3492) of observations in the control and 11.4% (445/3888) in the intervention condition; however, these percentages increased to 39.6% (1154/2910) and 59.6% (1932/3492) at follow-up, respectively. During the gamification phase, intervention participants increased their number of daily steps by 634 (95% CI 154.2-1113.8; P=.01) more than participants in the control group, after controlling for relevant factors. Improvements were not sustained during the physical nudges phase (P=.76) or follow-up (P=.88).
ConclusionsA digital intervention with gamification and social support features significantly increased the step count of office workers compared with an active control. Physical nudges in the workplace were insufficient to promote the maintenance of behavioral changes achieved in the gamification phase. Future research should explore the long-term effectiveness of similar gamified digital interventions.
Trial RegistrationInternational Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) 49129401; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN14881571
Серед багатьох факторів, які зумовлюють захворювання опорно-рухового апарату, крім фізіологічного зношування тканин, важливе значення має його функціональна перенапруга, яка є причиною патологічних змін. Мета статті – розробити структуру та зміст програми корекційно-профілактичних заходів для офісних працівників з різним станом біомеханіки опорно-рухового апарату. Методи дослідження – теоретичний аналіз спеціальної науково-методичної літератури, моделювання. Результати роботи. У процесі розробки програми ми керувалися загальноприйнятими дидактичними принципами та спеціальними принципами фізичного виховання. Програма реалізується протягом трьох етапів – початкового, основного й завершального. На початковому етапі здійснюється моніторинг фізичного стану та визначення пріоритетів і вподобань, на основі отриманих результатів розробляється програма корекційно-профілактичних заходів. Під час основного етапу реалізується розроблена нами програма. На завершальному етапі здійснюється повторний моніторинг фізичного стану й визначається ефективність реалізації програми. Відповідно до поставлених завдань, програма має такі три модулі: модуль 1 – «Ранкова зарядка», модуль 2 – «Корекція та відновлення», модуль 3 – «Актив» перед обідом. Модуль 2 – «Корекція та відновлення» – складався з трьох розділів, кожен із яких реалізовувався протягом двох місяців. Висновки. Розроблена програма корекційно-профілактичних заходів спрямована на підвищення рівня функціональних можливостей ОРА та підвищення рівня фізичної підготовленості чоловіків зрілого віку. Запропонована блок-схема програми відображає її структуру: мету, умови й етапи реалізації, модулі програми, їх тривалість та зміст, а також елементи контролю й критерії ефективності. Реалізація запропонованих заходів сприятиме зміцненню здоров’я офісних працівників та підвищенню їх працездатності.
Актуальність теми дослідження. Згідно з даними спеціальної літератури, просторову організацію тіла розуміють як єдність морфологічної, біомеханічної та функціональної організації людини, що відбивається в її «габітусі». Просторова організація тіла характеризується біогеометричним профілем постави, біомеханікою стопи, формою тілобудови, пропорціями й типом конституції, топографією сил різних м’язових груп. Розпов- сюдження порушень просторової організації тіла серед осіб працездатного віку зумовило підвищений інтерес науковців до цього питання. Мета статті – вивчення та систематизація факторів, зовнішнього середовища, що впливають на стан просторової організації тіла сучасної людини. Методи дослідження. Теоретичний аналіз спеціальної літератури передбачав використання низки таких методів, як реконструкція, аперципіювання, аспективний аналіз, герменевтичний та критичний аналіз. Результати роботи. На стан просторової організації тіла людини безпосередньо впливає зовнішнє середовище. Повсюдне впровадження автоматизації й механізації трудомістких робіт сприяє скороченню сфери застосування ручної праці. Однак є чимало професій, де робота пов’язана з величезною фізичною напругою, що негативно впливає на хребет, який відіграє роль опорного майданчика. Несприятливо відображається тривале перебування у вимушеному становищі (за письмовим столом, у машині, постійна або тривала напруга у випадку «стоячих професій»), а також неправильна поза тулуба та некоординована робота м’язів під час піднімання й перенесення вантажів. Сьогодні на проблему «комп’ютерних синдромів», що виникають (зорового, тунельного або синдрому зап’ясткового каналу, синдрому тривалого статичного навантаження), звернули увагу педагоги, психологи, ергономісти, фахівці фізичної куль- тури. Аналіз науково-методичної літератури вказує на необхідність програмування корекційно-профілактичних занять, спрямованих на корекцію порушень постави, підвищення рівня стану біогеометричного профілю постави у фронтальній та сагітальній площинах, підвищення рівня фізичної підготовленості осіб зрілого віку.
Prolonged sedentary behaviour has established health risks; however many individuals spend long periods of time sitting at work. Qualitative researchers suggest that inconsistent effectiveness of interventions may be linked to an incomplete understanding of the nature of and factors influencing sedentary behaviour in the workplace. Therefore, this study’s aim was to use the COM-B model of behaviour, complimented by the Theoretical Domains Framework, to examine how Capability, Opportunity and Motivation influences sitting behaviour at work in office workers. The study was a qualitative phenomenological analysis in which office workers (n=10) who had predominantly desk-based jobs were interviewed about their sitting behaviour at work. Interview analysis using the Nvivo 10 programme and the Framework Method identified themes and quantified the prevalence of each theme across participants. The analysis incorporated a number of procedures to enhance the trustworthiness including researcher reflexive journal and coding triangulation. Physical capability had minimal influence on behaviour, but psychological capability was influential. Physical and social opportunities were influential in terms of the physical environment, nature of the job, social acceptability and norms related to sitting. Both automatic and reflective motivation emerged as being influential on sitting behaviour. To conclude, the COM-B model, complimented by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), facilitated understanding of factors influencing office workers’ sitting behaviour and highlighted a number of potential areas for future intervention foci.
Background: The study aimed to identify the core components and the limitations of the programs to improve the heart health among female workers.Methods: An integrative review was used, and the research from 1984 to 2021.Results: Seven studies of the heart health promotion program among female workers were included. All of the studies included physical activities and was found that most of the intervention were effective in promoting heart health. However, most of the studies did not mention the details of the intervention. Although studies reviewed in this paper included psychological factors as outcome measure, none of the intervention included psychological contents.Conclusions: This review can serve as a guidance to develop the standardized heart health promotion programs among female workers including not only physical activities but also psychological contents.
The ergonomics is one of the key factors in any service sector where the workers are involved in physical work. The physical strength of an individual is dependent on the human artefacts which may help the system to recruit the suitable person to right place. The present study comprises the body flexibility (Bf) of the servicemen associated to Indian railway. Four inputs i.e. age, height, weight, and waist of all recruited participants are measured and conduct the sit and reach test (S-R test) for the Bf. The statistical analysis is performed for investigating the significance of the inputs on the Bf. Statistically, the inputs Ag (P=0.002), Wg, (P=0.030), and Wa-g (P=0.001) are individually significant whereas the interactional relation of Hg with Ag (P=0.008) and Hg with Wa-g (P≤0.001) is reported. The Bf of Tall Hg is grown up gradually with Ag but it was 20.47% lesser than the maximum Bf. Simultaneously, with the increase in Wa-g of all Hg, the degradation in the Bf is reported.
Objective:
An interactive seating system (IASS) was compared to a state-of-the-art massage seating system (MS) regarding the potential of reducing health risks from prolonged sitting in the vehicle. The study investigated if the systems (1) increase heart rate, which is associated with reduced metabolic and cardiovascular risks; (2) activate muscles with the potential to reduce musculoskeletal pain; (3) influence seating comfort and discomfort.
Method:
The systems were compared in a passenger scenario in a laboratory study (30 male subjects).
Results:
Only the use of the IASS significantly elevated the heart rate. Muscle activity showed tendencies to increase in the lower back only while using the MS. In comparison, the IASS activated all six captured muscles. Significantly less discomfort was found for the IASS compared to the MS.
Conclusions:
In comparison to the MS, the IASS showed a substantially higher potential for reducing health risks from static sitting in the vehicle.
The use of wrist-worn accelerometers to perform assessment of physical activity features and posture recognition, has significantly increased in the last decades, but remains limited in ergonomic contexts. In particular, to our knowledge, no studies employed them to investigate symmetry of use of upper limb (UL) during actual work shifts, even though such information would be useful to identify potentially unbalanced use of dominant and non-dominant limb. In the present study we aimed to estimate intensity and symmetry of use of UL while, at the same time, analyzing the amount of time spent in sedentary behavior in workers engaged in physically demanding and sedentary tasks.2.Methods
Twenty-two full-time workers employed in a metalworking company were recruited for the study and divided into two groups (n=11 each) according to the task they usually performed as follows:1)Machine tools operators, who are required to perform several kinds of machining processes such as cutting, turning, milling, etc.2)Administrative staff, who spend most of their shift time on a desk, in a sitting position using a PC, mouse and keyboard. Upper limb activity was measured for 4 consecutive hours of a regular working shift using two wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometers (Actigraph GT3X-BT, Acticorp Co., USA). The raw accelerations were processed to calculate the following parameters:a) vector magnitude (VM) counts, a composite measure of the accelerometric counts on the three planes of motion;b) Bilateral Magnitude (BLM), which is the sum of the VM values of dominant and non-dominant limb;c) Use Ratio (UR): is the ratio between the minutes of use calculated for the non-dominant and the dominant limb respectively. UR = 1 indicates an equal use of dominant and non-dominant limb, while UR < 1 (>1) indicates longer periods of use for the dominant (non-dominant) limb;d) Magnitude Ratio (MR) is the natural logarithm of the ratio between the VM counts calculated for the non-dominant and the dominant limbs respectively. A value of MR = 0 indicates perfect symmetric use of both limbs in terms of movement intensity. MR < 0 (> 0) denotes higher intensity activity of the dominant (non-dominant) limb;e) Time spent in sedentary (sitting) behaviour calculated according to the procedure proposed by Straczkiewicz et al. (2020)We performed one-way MANCOVA and ANCOVA using the number of steps as covariate because the arm swing associated with walking represents a source of accelerometric counts. The independent variable was the group (i.e. machine tools operator or administrative staff), while the dependent variables were: 1.The three UL activity parameters (i.e., BLM, MR and UR); 2.The time spend in sedentary (sitting) behavior.The level of significance was set at p = 0.05 and the effect of size was assessed using the eta-squared coefficient. Univariate ANOVAs were carried out as a post-hoc test on the adjusted group means.3.ResultsAfter controlling for number of steps, MANCOVA detected a significant main effect of group on UL activity and symmetry parameters [F(3,17) = 5.512; p = 0.008 Wilks’ λ = 0.507; η2 = 0.493]. In particular, the follow-up analysis revealed that machine tool operators performed a more asymmetrical activity in favor of their dominant limb with respect to those engaged in office tasks both in terms of intensity (MR = -0.18 vs. -0.02, p=0.004) and minutes of use (UR = 0.89 vs. 0.99, p=0.001). As regards the sedentary behavior, the ANCOVA revealed that the administrative staff spent significantly longer time in sitting position with respect to machine tools workers (158 minutes vs. 70, p=0.021). This value represents approximately 66% of the monitoring period.4.Discussion and conclusionThe results obtained from the experimental analysis identified the existence of significant asymmetry in the machine tools workers in terms of both duration of UL use and activity intensity. In particular, their markedly higher intensity of use of dominant limb is probably due to the fact that during activities such as cutting, turning, milling, etc. the dominant arm tends to perform dynamic tasks, while the non-dominant is devoted more to stabilizing position by contrasting the forces imposed by the dominant limb. Also, as expected, they spend little time in sitting position (30% of the monitoring period) compared with administrative staff, which perform a typical sedentary work. The findings of the present study, although carried out on a restricted sample in terms of working activities and number of subjects tested, suggest that accelerometer-based data allow discriminating among important features of different job occupations, at the same time highlighting potentially harmful conditions associated with the asymmetrical use of the dominant and non-dominant limbs. This can be extremely important in properly planning suitable ergonomic interventions.
Objective:
Physical inactivity, prolonged sitting, and unhealthy dietary habits are common in Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers. These factors increase risk of long-term health conditions.
Methods:
329 HGV drivers across 25 UK depots completed a health assessment, including questionnaire completion, and objectively measured anthropometrics, blood biomarkers, physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour.
Results:
The sample demonstrated a high-risk cardiometabolic health profile. 88.1% were overweight or had obesity, 11.9% had pre-diabetes or diabetes. 28.3% had hypertension, 83.6% had clinically elevated circulating LDL-cholesterol concentrations (>2mmol/l), and 66.6% had high total cholesterol levels (>4 mmol/l). On workdays drivers accumulated 12 hrs/day of sitting, 1.7 hrs/day of light PA (LPA) and 9.8 mins/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA. Associations between LPA and cardiometabolic markers were observed.
Conclusion:
This sample presents high levels of inactivity, overweight and obesity, and unhealthy cardiometabolic health profiles.
Ergonomics is a broad area in which the assessment of the workers is conducted for their comfort in the workplace. Theses study includes motion study, time study, and postures, etc. This paper presents the anthropometric assessment of the person involved in the education system to know the impact of the human factors on their strength. A health survey (ergonomic assessment) was done to track the problem they were suffering. The majority of the participants were suffered from back pain and shoulder/muscle pain. Therefore, concentrating on the back pain, the flexibility of the back was set as the target. The human body parts were measured with the help of various tools and the output response was measured through a customized reach tool-box. Further the statistical tool was utilized for finding the significance of the anthropometric measures on body flexibility. Statistically, the inputs such as weight (wtg) (P = 0.03), waist (wg) (P = 0.001), and age (ag) (P = 0.002) were found significant. Also, it is recommended the staff engage in the office activity must take a break for refreshment, as well as the management, should conduct the motivation session to encourage the people to involve in physical activity like yoga, gym, sports, etc to release their stress and the musculoskeletal disorder.
In modern Western societies, sedentary behavior has become a growing health concern. There is increasing evidence that prolonged sitting periods can be associated with musculoskeletal disorders. While it is generally recognized that back muscle activity is low during chair-sitting, little is known about the consequences of minor to no muscle activity on muscle stiffness. Muscle stiffness may play an important role in musculoskeletal health. This study investigated the effects of regular muscle contractions on muscle stiffness in a controlled experiment in which participants sat for 4.5 h. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation in the lumbar region of the back was applied to trigger regular muscle contractions. Using stiffness measurements and continuous motion capturing, we found that prolonged sitting periods without regular muscle contractions significantly increased back muscle stiffness. Moreover, we were able to show that regular muscle contractions can prevent those effects. Our results highlight the importance of consistent muscle activity throughout the day and may help explain why prolonged periods of chair-sitting increase the susceptibility to common pathological conditions such as low back pain.
Physical health diseases caused by wrong sitting postures are becoming increasingly serious and widespread, especially for sedentary students and workers. Existing video-based approaches and sensor-based approaches can achieve high accuracy, while they have limitations like breaching privacy and relying on specific sensor devices. In this work, we propose Sitsen, a non-contact wireless-based sitting posture recognition system, just using radio frequency signals alone, which neither compromises the privacy nor requires using various specific sensors. We demonstrate that Sitsen can successfully recognize five habitual sitting postures with just one lightweight and low-cost radio frequency identification tag. The intuition is that different postures induce different phase variations. Due to the received phase readings are corrupted by the environmental noise and hardware imperfection, we employ series of signal processing schemes to obtain clean phase readings. Using the sliding window approach to extract effective features of the measured phase sequences and employing an appropriate machine learning algorithm, Sitsen can achieve robust and high performance. Extensive experiments are conducted in an office with 10 volunteers. The result shows that our system can recognize different sitting postures with an average accuracy of 97.02%.
Physical activity has been linked to a lower risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, evidence on the relationship between domain-specific physical activity and CKD is scarce. This study aimed to examine the risk of CKD in relation to leisure-time, occupational, and commuting physical activities in a large occupational cohort in Japan. Participants were 17,331 workers (20–65 years old) without CKD and were followed-up for a maximum period of 13 years. Incident CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate of < 60 mL/min/1.73 m ² and/or proteinuria determined using the dipstick test. The Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the associations. During 147,752 person-years of follow-up, 4013 participants developed CKD. Workers who were standing or walking at work and those who were fairly active at work had adjusted hazard ratios of 0.88 (95% confidence interval 0.86–0.96) and 0.89 (95% confidence interval 0.78–1.02), respectively, for developing CKD than sedentary workers. Leisure-time physical activity and walking for commute were not associated with CKD risk. Our findings suggest that occupational, but not leisure-time and commuting physical activities, is associated with a lower CKD risk.
Background
Sedentary time has been found to be independently associated with poor health and mortality. Further, a greater proportion of the workforce is now employed in low activity occupations such as office work. To date, there is no research that specifically examines the contribution of sedentary work to overall sedentary exposure and thus risk. The purpose of the study was to determine the total exposure and exposure pattern for sedentary time, light activity and moderate/vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of office workers during work and non-work time.
Methods
50 office workers from Perth, Australia wore an Actical (Phillips, Respironics) accelerometer during waking hours for 7 days (in 2008–2009). Participants recorded wear time, waking hours, work hours and daily activities in an activity diary. Time in activity levels (as percentage of wear time) during work and non-work time were analysed using paired t-tests and Pearson’s correlations.
Results
Sedentary time accounted for 81.8% of work hours (light activity 15.3% and MVPA 2.9%), which was significantly greater than sedentary time during non-work time (68.9% p < 0.001). Office workers experienced significantly more sustained sedentary time (bouts >30 minutes) and significantly less brief duration (0–10 minutes) light intensity activity during work hours compared to non-work time (p < 0.001). Further, office workers had fewer breaks in sedentary time during work hours compared to non-work time (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Office work is characterised by sustained sedentary time and contributes significantly to overall sedentary exposure of office workers.
Background
To examine sedentary time, prolonged sedentary bouts and physical activity in Australian employees from different workplace settings, within work and non-work contexts.
Methods
A convenience sample of 193 employees working in offices (131), call centres (36) and customer service (26) was recruited. Actigraph GT1M accelerometers were used to derive percentages of time spent sedentary (<100 counts per minute; cpm), in prolonged sedentary bouts (≥20 minutes or ≥30 minutes), light-intensity activity (100–1951 cpm) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA; ≥1952 cpm). Using mixed models adjusted for confounders, these were compared for: work days versus non-work days; work hours versus non-work hours (work days only); and, across workplace settings.
Results
Working hours were mostly spent sedentary (77.0%, 95%CI: 76.3, 77.6), with approximately half of this time accumulated in prolonged bouts of 20 minutes or more. There were significant (p<0.05) differences in all outcomes between workdays and non-work days, and, on workdays, between work- versus non-work hours. Results consistently showed “work” was more sedentary and had less light-intensity activity, than “non-work”. The period immediately after work appeared important for MVPA. There were significant (p<0.05) differences in all sedentary and activity outcomes occurring during work hours across the workplace settings. Call-centre workers were generally the most sedentary and least physically active at work; customer service workers were typically the least sedentary and the most active at work.
Conclusion
The workplace is a key setting for prolonged sedentary time, especially for some occupational groups, and the potential health risk burden attached requires investigation. Future workplace regulations and health promotion initiatives for sedentary occupations to reduce prolonged sitting time should be considered.
Sedentary (sitting) behaviours are ubiquitous in modern society. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the association of sedentary time with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.
Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for terms related to sedentary time and health outcomes. Cross-sectional and prospective studies were included. RR/HR and 95% CIs were extracted by two independent reviewers. Data were adjusted for baseline event rate and pooled using a random-effects model. Bayesian predictive effects and intervals were calculated to indicate the variance in outcomes that would be expected if new studies were conducted in the future.
Eighteen studies (16 prospective, two cross-sectional) were included, with 794,577 participants. Fifteen of these studies were moderate to high quality. The greatest sedentary time compared with the lowest was associated with a 112% increase in the RR of diabetes (RR 2.12; 95% credible interval [CrI] 1.61, 2.78), a 147% increase in the RR of cardiovascular events (RR 2.47; 95% CI 1.44, 4.24), a 90% increase in the risk of cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.90; 95% CrI 1.36, 2.66) and a 49% increase in the risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.49; 95% CrI 1.14, 2.03). The predictive effects and intervals were only significant for diabetes.
Sedentary time is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality; the strength of the association is most consistent for diabetes.
In recent years there has been a growing interest in the relationship between sedentary behaviour (sitting) and health outcomes. Only recently have there been studies assessing the association between time spent in sedentary behaviour and the metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study is to quantify the association between sedentary behaviour and the metabolic syndrome in adults using meta-analysis.
Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched using medical subject headings and key words related to sedentary behaviours and the metabolic syndrome. Reference lists of relevant articles and personal databases were hand searched. Inclusion criteria were: (1) cross sectional or prospective design; (2) include adults ≥ 18 years of age; (3) self-reported or objectively measured sedentary time; and (4) an outcome measure of metabolic syndrome. Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals for metabolic syndrome comparing the highest level of sedentary behaviour to the lowest were extracted for each study. Data were pooled using random effects models to take into account heterogeneity between studies. Ten cross-sectional studies (n = 21393 participants), one high, four moderate and five poor quality, were identified. Greater time spent sedentary increased the odds of metabolic syndrome by 73% (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.55-1.94, p<0.0001). There were no differences for subgroups of sex, sedentary behaviour measure, metabolic syndrome definition, study quality or country income. There was no evidence of statistical heterogeneity (I(2) = 0.0%, p = 0.61) or publication bias (Eggers test t = 1.05, p = 0.32).
People who spend higher amounts of time in sedentary behaviours have greater odds of having metabolic syndrome. Reducing sedentary behaviours is potentially important for the prevention of metabolic syndrome.
Pedometers could provide great insights into walking habits if they are found to be accurate for people of all weight categories.
the purposes of this study were to determine whether the New Lifestyles NL-2000 (NL) and the Digi-Walker SW-200 (DW) yield similar daily step counts as compared with the StepWatch 3 (SW) in a free-living environment and to determine whether pedometer error is influenced by body mass index (BMI) and speed of walking. The SW served as the criterion because of its accuracy across a range of speeds and BMI categories. Slow walking was defined as ≤80 steps per minute.
fifty-six adults (mean ± SD: age = 32.7 ± 14.5 yr) wore the devices for 7 d. There were 20 normal weight, 18 overweight, and 18 obese participants. A two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to determine whether BMI and device were related to number of steps counted per day. Stepwise linear regressions were performed to determine what variables contributed to NL and DW error.
both the NL and the DW recorded fewer steps than the SW (P < 0.001). In the normal weight and overweight groups, error was similar for the DW and NL. In the obese group, the DW underestimated steps more than the NL (P < 0.01). DW error was positively related to BMI and percentage of slow steps, whereas NL error was linearly related to percentage of slow steps. A surprising finding was that many healthy, community-dwelling adults accumulated a large percentage of steps through slow walking.
the NL is more accurate than the DW for obese individuals, and neither pedometer is accurate for people who walk slowly. Researchers and practitioners must weigh the strengths and limitations of step counters before making an informed decision about which device to use.
The aims of this study were to estimate average yearly weight gain in midage women and to identify the determinants of weight gain and gaining weight at double the average rate.
The study sample comprised 8071 participants (45 to 55 years old) in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health who completed mailed surveys in 1996, 1998, and 2001.
On average, the women gained almost 0.5 kg per year [average 2.42 kg (95% confidence interval, 2.29 to 2.54) over 5 years]. In multivariate analyses, variables associated with energy balance (physical activity, sitting time, and energy intake), as well as quitting smoking, menopause/hysterectomy, and baseline BMI category were significantly associated with weight gain, but other behavioral and demographic characteristics were not. After adjustment for all of the other biological and behavioral variables, the odds of gaining weight at about twice the average rate (>5 kg over 5 years) were highest for women who quit smoking (odds ratio = 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 2.17, 3.96). There were also independent relationships between the odds of gaining >5 kg and lower levels of habitual physical activity, more time spent sitting, energy intake (but only in women with BMI > 25 at baseline), menopause transition, and hysterectomy.
The average weight gain equates with an energy imbalance of only about 10 kcal or 40 kJ per day, which suggests that small sustained changes in the modifiable behavioral variables could prevent further weight gain.
The purpose of this study was to: 1) evaluate the quality of promotional pedometers widely distributed through cereal boxes at the time of the 2004 Canada on the Move campaign; and 2) establish a battery of testing protocols to provide direction for future consensus on industry standards for pedometer quality.
Fifteen Kellogg's* Special K* Step Counters (K pedometers or K; manufactured for Kellogg Canada by Sasco, Inc.) and 9 Yamax pedometers (Yamax; Yamax Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) were tested with 9 participants accordingly: 1) 20 Step Test; 2) treadmill at 80m x min(-1) (3 miles x hr(-1)) and motor vehicle controlled conditions; and 3) 24-hour free-living conditions against an accelerometer criterion.
Fifty-three percent of the K pedometers passed the 20 Step Test compared to 100% of the Yamax. Mean absolute percent error for the K during treadmill walking was 24.2+/-33.9 vs. 3.9+/-6.6% for the Yamax. The K detected 5.7-fold more non-steps compared to the Yamax during the motor vehicle condition. In the free-living condition, mean absolute percent error relative to the ActiGraph was 44.9+/-34.5% for the K vs. 19.5+/-21.2% for the Yamax.
K pedometers are unacceptably inaccurate. We suggest that research grade pedometers: 1) be manufactured to a sensitivity threshold of 0.35 Gs; 2) detect +/-1 step error on the 20 Step Test (i.e., within 5%); 3) detect +/-1% error most of the time during treadmill walking at 80m x min(-1) (3 miles x hr(-1)); as well as, 4) detect steps/day within 10% of the ActiGraph at least 60% of the time, or be within 10% of the Yamax under free-living conditions.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to examine the independent relationships of television viewing or other screen-based entertainment (“screen time”) with all-cause mortality and clinically confirmed cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. A secondary objective was to examine the extent to which metabolic (body mass index, high-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol) and inflammatory (C-reactive protein) markers mediate the relationship between screen time and CVD events.
Background
Although some evidence suggests that prolonged sitting is linked to CVD risk factor development regardless of physical activity participation, studies with hard outcomes are scarce.
Methods
A population sample of 4,512 (1,945 men) Scottish Health Survey 2003 respondents (≥35 years) were followed up to 2007 for all-cause mortality and CVD events (fatal and nonfatal combined). Main exposures were interviewer-assessed screen time (<2 h/day; 2 to <4 h/day; and ≥4 h/day) and moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity.
Results
Two hundred fifteen CVD events and 325 any-cause deaths occurred during 19,364 follow-up person-years. The covariable (age, sex, ethnicity, obesity, smoking, social class, long-standing illness, marital status, diabetes, hypertension)-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality was 1.52 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06 to 2.16) and for CVD events was 2.30 (95% CI: 1.33 to 3.96) for participants engaging in ≥4 h/day of screen time relative to <2 h/day. Adjusting for physical activity attenuated these associations only slightly (all-cause mortality: HR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.04 to 2.13; CVD events: HR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.30 to 3.89). Exclusion of participants with CVD events in the first 2 years of follow-up and previous cancer registrations did not change these results appreciably. Approximately 25% of the association between screen time and CVD events was explained collectively by C-reactive protein, body mass index, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Conclusions
Recreational sitting, as reflected by television/screen viewing time, is related to raised mortality and CVD risk regardless of physical activity participation. Inflammatory and metabolic risk factors partly explain this relationship.
Employee presenteeism is the extent to which health conditions adversely affect at-work productivity. Given the links between health and activity, this study examined associations between objectively measured physical activity, sedentary behavior, and presenteeism.
Participants were 108 office employees (70% women, mean age 40.7 ± 11.2 years). Activity was measured using ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers to determine sedentary (≤150 counts) and light (151 to 1689 counts) activity; presenteeism with the Work Limitations Questionnaire.
Fifty-seven percent of time was spent in sedentary behavior and 38% in light activity. The median Work Limitations Questionnaire Index was 4.38; 6% of participants reported at least moderate impairment. Significant associations were reported for time spent in sedentary behavior before/after work (odds ratio [OR] = 2.58; 95% CI: 1.08 to 6.20) and in light activity, overall (OR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.97) and during workday lunch hours (OR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.77), and presenteeism.
Future studies should seek greater variation in employee levels of activity and presenteeism to confirm these relationships.
Background:
The World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum have recommended further research to strengthen current knowledge of workplace health programmes, particularly on effectiveness and using simple instruments. A pedometer is one such simple instrument that can be incorporated in workplace interventions.
Objectives:
To assess the effectiveness of pedometer interventions in the workplace for increasing physical activity and improving subsequent health outcomes.
Search methods:
Electronic searches of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (671 potential papers), MEDLINE (1001), Embase (965), CINAHL (1262), OSH UPDATE databases (75) and Web of Science (1154) from the earliest record to between 30th January and 6th February 2012 yielded 3248 unique records. Reference lists of articles yielded an additional 34 papers. Contact with individuals and organisations did not produce any further records.
Selection criteria:
We included individual and cluster-randomised controlled trials of workplace health promotion interventions with a pedometer component in employed adults. The primary outcome was physical activity and was part of the eligibility criteria. We considered subsequent health outcomes, including adverse effects, as secondary outcomes.
Data collection and analysis:
Two review authors undertook the screening of titles and abstracts and the full-text papers independently. Two review authors (RFP and MC) independently completed data extraction and risk of bias assessment. We contacted authors to obtain additional data and clarification.
Main results:
We found four relevant studies providing data for 1809 employees, 60% of whom were allocated to the intervention group. All studies assessed outcomes immediately after the intervention had finished and the intervention duration varied between three to six months. All studies had usual treatment control conditions; however one study's usual treatment was an alternative physical activity programme while the other three had minimally active controls. In general, there was high risk of bias mainly due to lack of blinding, self reported outcome measurement, incomplete outcome data due to attrition, and most of the studies had not published protocols, which increases the likelihood of selective reporting.Three studies compared the pedometer programme to a minimally active control group, but the results for physical activity could not be combined because each study used a different measure of activity. One study observed an increase in physical activity under a pedometer programme, but the other two did not find a significant difference. For secondary outcomes we found improvements in body mass index, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, the quality of life mental component and worksite injury associated with the pedometer programmes, but these results were based on limited data from one or two small studies. There were no differences between the pedometer programme and the control group for blood pressure, a number of biochemical outcomes and the quality of life physical component. Sedentary behaviour and disease risk scores were not measured by any of the included studies.One study compared a pedometer programme and an alternative physical activity programme, but baseline imbalances made it difficult to distinguish the true improvements associated with either programme.Overall, there was insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of pedometer interventions in the workplace.There is a need for more high quality randomised controlled trials to assess the effectiveness of pedometer interventions in the workplace for increasing physical activity and improving subsequent health outcomes. To improve the quality of the evidence available, future studies should be registered in an online trials register, publish a protocol, allocate time and financial support to reducing attrition, and try to blind personnel (especially those who undertake measurement). To better identify the effects of pedometer interventions, future studies should report a core set of outcomes (total physical activity in METs, total time sitting in hours and minutes, objectively measured cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes risk factors, quality of life and injury), assess outcomes in the long term and undertake subgroup analyses based upon demographic subgroups (e.g. age, gender, educational status). Future studies should also compare different types of active intervention to test specific intervention components (eligibility, duration, step goal, step diary, settings), and settings (occupation, intervention provider).
Authors' conclusions:
There was limited and low quality data providing insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of pedometer interventions in the workplace for increasing physical activity and improving subsequent health outcomes.
Objective:
To investigate whether or not use of sit-stand desks and awareness of the importance of postural variation and breaks are associated with the pattern of sedentary behavior in office workers.
Method:
The data came from a cross-sectional observation study of Swedish call centre workers. Inclinometers recorded 'seated' or 'standing/walking' episodes of 131 operators over a full work shift. Differences in sedentary behavior based on desk type and awareness of the importance of posture variation and breaks were assessed by non-parametric analyses.
Results:
90 (68.7%) operators worked at a sit-stand desk. Working at a sit-stand desk, as opposed to a sit desk, was associated with less time seated (78.5 vs 83.8%, p = 0.010), and less time taken to accumulate 5 min of standing/walking (36.2 vs 46.3 min, p = 0.022), but no significant difference to sitting episode length or the number of switches between sitting and standing/walking per hour. Ergonomics awareness was not associated with any sedentary pattern variable among those using a sit-stand desk.
Conclusion:
Use of sit-stand desks was associated with better sedentary behavior in call centre workers, however ergonomics awareness did not enhance the effect.
This study aimed to examine the presence and duration of reactivity to wearing a pedometer and recording daily step counts in free-living adults.
On the first visit to the laboratory, 90 participants (69% were females, age = 26.8 ± 13.0 yr, body mass index = 23.4 ± 4.0 kg·m(-2)), blinded to the study aim, were provided with a sealed pedometer (New Lifestyles NL-800) and informed that it was a "body posture monitor" (covert condition). Participants wore the pedometer throughout waking hours for 1 wk. On their return to the laboratory, stored step counts were recorded, and participants were informed that the device was a pedometer. Participants wore the pedometer unsealed (no restriction on viewing the step count display) for 2 wk, during which they recorded their daily step count in a diary (diary condition). Mean daily step counts recorded during the covert condition and during weeks 1 and 2 of the diary condition were compared using a repeated-measures ANOVA.
There was a significant overall effect of study condition (P < 0.001), with post hoc analyses revealing that mean daily step counts reported during the first week of the diary condition (9898 ± 3002 steps per day) were significantly higher than those reported during the covert condition (8331 ± 3010 steps per day) and during the second week of the diary condition (8226 ± 3170 steps per day, P < 0.001).
Reactivity to wearing unsealed pedometers and step count recording seems to last for 1 wk. In the absence of any intervention material, step counts return to normal levels during the second week of monitoring and therefore represent a more accurate estimate of habitual activity. These findings have important implications to both researchers and practitioners interested in the use of pedometers for physical activity surveillance and promotion.
In light of evidence linking sedentary behaviors to health outcomes, there have been calls for the measurement of sedentary behavior in surveillance studies. This study examined the convergent validity of 2 self-report measures of sitting time and accelerometer-determined sedentary time (minutes/day of <100 counts/minute).
44 adults wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 days, during which they also recorded daily sitting time in a diary, in response to a single-item question. After 7 days, participants completed a new domain-specific questionnaire to assess usual weekday and weekend-day sitting time. Total sitting times recorded from the self-report measures were compared with accelerometer-determined sedentary time.
Total sitting time calculated from the domain-specific questionnaire did not differ significantly from accelerometer-determined sedentary time on weekdays (mean difference [±SE] = -14 ± 28 mins/day) and weekend days (-4 ± 45 mins/day, both P > .05). Sitting time was significantly underestimated using the single-item specific-day question on weekdays (-173 ± 18 mins/day) and weekend days (-219 ± 23 mins/day, both P < .001).
When assessed via self-report, the estimation of total sitting time is improved by summing sitting times reported across different domains. The continued improvement of self-report measures of sitting time will be important if we are to further our understanding of the links between sedentary behavior and health.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walking speed on the accuracy of measurement of steps, distance, and energy expenditure of two commercially available Omron pedometers [HJ-720IT-E2 (HJ-720) and HJ-113-E (HJ-113)]. Twenty-four untrained males (age, 22.7 ± 2.8 years; BMI, 24.38 ± 2.19 kg m(-2); body fat (%), 16 ± 2.2; VO(2max), 40.2 ± 6.5 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) and 18 females (age, 22.4 ± 2.9 years; BMI, 21.68 ± 2.43 kg m(-2); body fat (%), 23% ± 1.8; VO(2max), 35.9 ± 2.8 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) walked at five different velocities (54, 67, 80, 94 and 107 m min(-1)) on a treadmill in 5-min stages while wearing three types of pedometers: (a) HJ-720, (b) HJ-113, and (c) Yamax Digi-Walker SW-200 (YAM). Step-count for each pedometer was recorded at the end of each stage and compared with the value of a hand counter. Additionally, Omron pedometers were evaluated on their distance and energy expenditure (against VO(2) measurement with a gas-exchange analyzer) accuracy during each stage. HJ-720 and HJ-113 demonstrated high accuracy (r = 0.80-0.99) at all speeds. YAM underestimated step-count only at 54 m min(-1) (r = 0.46). HJ-720 and HJ-113 overestimated distance at slower speeds and underestimated distance at faster speeds, providing mean distance values that where to within 1.5-4% at 80 m min(-1). HJ-720 and HJ-113 underestimated energy expenditure (gross kilocalories) by 28%, when compared to indirect calorimetry. These results suggest that although the Omron HJ-720 and HJ-113 pedometers are accurate in the measurement of step-count, they demonstrate limited accuracy in the assessment of traveled distance and energy expenditure in a speed-dependent manner.
To systematically review the effectiveness of workplace interventions for reducing sitting.
Studies published up to April 2009 were identified by literature searches in multiple databases. Studies were included if they were interventions to increase energy expenditure (increase physical activity or decrease sitting); were conducted in a workplace setting; and specifically measured sitting as a primary or secondary outcome. Two independent reviewers assessed methodological quality of the included studies, and data on study design, sample, measures of sitting, intervention and results were extracted.
Six studies met the inclusion criteria (five randomised trials and one pre-post study). The primary aim of all six was to increase physical activity; all had reducing sitting as a secondary aim. All used self-report measures of sitting; one specifically assessed occupational sitting time; the others used measures of general sitting. No studies showed that sitting decreased significantly in the intervention group, compared with a control or comparison group.
Currently, there is a dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of workplace interventions for reducing sitting. In light of the growing body of evidence that prolonged sitting is negatively associated with health, this highlights a gap in the scientific literature that needs to be addressed.
Although moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is related to premature mortality, the relationship between sedentary behaviors and mortality has not been fully explored and may represent a different paradigm than that associated with lack of exercise. We prospectively examined sitting time and mortality in a representative sample of 17,013 Canadians 18-90 yr of age.
Evaluation of daily sitting time (almost none of the time, one fourth of the time, half of the time, three fourths of the time, almost all of the time), leisure time physical activity, smoking status, and alcohol consumption was conducted at baseline. Participants were followed prospectively for an average of 12.0 yr for the ascertainment of mortality status.
There were 1832 deaths (759 of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 547 of cancer) during 204,732 person-yr of follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, there was a progressively higher risk of mortality across higher levels of sitting time from all causes (hazard ratios (HR): 1.00, 1.00, 1.11, 1.36, 1.54; P for trend <0.0001) and CVD (HR:1.00, 1.01, 1.22, 1.47, 1.54; P for trend <0.0001) but not cancer. Similar results were obtained when stratified by sex, age, smoking status, and body mass index. Age-adjusted all-cause mortality rates per 10,000 person-yr of follow-up were 87, 86, 105, 130, and 161 (P for trend <0.0001) in physically inactive participants and 75, 69, 76, 98, 105 (P for trend = 0.008) in active participants across sitting time categories.
These data demonstrate a dose-response association between sitting time and mortality from all causes and CVD, independent of leisure time physical activity. In addition to the promotion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight, physicians should discourage sitting for extended periods.
Consistent with a strong hormonal etiology, endometrial cancer is thought to be influenced by both obesity and physical activity. Although obesity has been consistently related to risk, associations with physical activity have been inconclusive. We examined relationships of activity patterns with endometrial cancer incidence in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort, which included 109,621 women, ages 50-71, without cancer history, who in 1995-1996 completed a mailed baseline questionnaire capturing daily routine and vigorous (defined as any period of >or=20 min of activity at work or home causing increases in breathing, heart rate, or sweating) physical activity. A second questionnaire, completed by 70,351 women, in 1996-1997 collected additional physical activity information. State cancer registry linkage identified 1,052 primary incident endometrial cancers from baseline through December 31, 2003. In multivariate proportional hazards models, vigorous activity was inversely associated with endometrial cancer in a dose-response manner (p for trend = 0.02) (relative risk (RR) for >or=5 times/week vs. never/rarely = 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63-0.95); this association was more pronounced among overweight and obese women (body mass index >or=25; RR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.47-0.79) than among lean women (body mass index <25; RR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.52-1.10; p for interaction = 0.12). Although we observed no associations with light/moderate, daily routine or occupational physical activities, risk did increase with number of hours of daily sitting (p for trend = 0.02). Associations with vigorous activities, which may interact with body mass index, suggest directions for future research to clarify underlying biologic mechanisms, including those relating to hormonal alterations.
Current public health campaigns to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes have largely focused on increasing exercise, but have paid little attention to the reduction of sedentary behaviors.
To examine the relationship between various sedentary behaviors, especially prolonged television (TV) watching, and risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes in women.
Prospective cohort study conducted from 1992 to 1998 among women from 11 states in the Nurses' Health Study. The obesity analysis included 50 277 women who had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30 and were free from diagnosed cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer and completed questions on physical activity and sedentary behaviors at baseline. The diabetes analysis included 68 497 women who at baseline were free from diagnosed diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, or cancer.
Onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
During 6 years of follow-up, 3757 (7.5%) of 50 277 women who had a BMI of less than 30 in 1992 became obese (BMI > or =30). Overall, we documented 1515 new cases of type 2 diabetes. Time spent watching TV was positively associated with risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the multivariate analyses adjusting for age, smoking, exercise levels, dietary factors, and other covariates, each 2-h/d increment in TV watching was associated with a 23% (95% confidence interval [CI], 17%-30%) increase in obesity and a 14% (95% CI, 5%-23%) increase in risk of diabetes; each 2-h/d increment in sitting at work was associated with a 5% (95% CI, 0%-10%) increase in obesity and a 7% (95% CI, 0%-16%) increase in diabetes. In contrast, standing or walking around at home (2 h/d) was associated with a 9% (95% CI, 6%-12%) reduction in obesity and a 12% (95% CI, 7%-16%) reduction in diabetes. Each 1 hour per day of brisk walking was associated with a 24% (95% CI, 19%-29%) reduction in obesity and a 34% (95% CI, 27%-41%) reduction in diabetes. We estimated that in our cohort, 30% (95% CI, 24%-36%) of new cases of obesity and 43% (95% CI, 32%-52%) of new cases of diabetes could be prevented by adopting a relatively active lifestyle (<10 h/wk of TV watching and > or =30 min/d of brisk walking).
Independent of exercise levels, sedentary behaviors, especially TV watching, were associated with significantly elevated risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, whereas even light to moderate activity was associated with substantially lower risk. This study emphasizes the importance of reducing prolonged TV watching and other sedentary behaviors for preventing obesity and diabetes.
This study examined the effects of walking speed on the accuracy and reliability of 10 pedometers: Yamasa Skeletone (SK), Sportline 330 (SL330) and 345 (SL345), Omron (OM), Yamax Digiwalker SW-701 (DW), Kenz Lifecorder (KZ), New Lifestyles 2000 (NL), Oregon Scientific (OR), Freestyle Pacer Pro (FR), and Walk4Life LS 2525 (WL).
Ten subjects (33 +/- 12 yr) walked on a treadmill at various speeds (54, 67, 80, 94, and 107 m x min-1) for 5-min stages. Simultaneously, an investigator determined steps by a hand counter and energy expenditure (kcal) by indirect calorimetry. Each brand was measured on the right and left sides.
Correlation coefficients between right and left sides exceeded 0.81 for all pedometers except OR (0.76) and SL345 (0.57). Most pedometers underestimated steps at 54 m x min-1, but accuracy for step counting improved at faster speeds. At 80 m x min-1 and above, six models (SK, OM, DW, KZ, NL, and WL) gave mean values that were within +/- 1% of actual steps. Six pedometers displayed the distance traveled. Most of them estimated mean distance to within +/- 10% at 80 m x min-1 but overestimated distance at slower speeds and underestimated distance at faster speeds. Eight pedometers displayed kilocalories, but except for KZ and NL, it is unclear whether this should reflect net or gross kilocalories. If one assumes they display net kilocalories, the general trend was an overestimation of kilocalories at every speed. If one assumes they display gross kilocalorie, then seven of the eight pedometers were accurate to within +/-30% at all speeds.
In general, pedometers are most accurate for assessing steps, less accurate for assessing distance, and even less accurate for assessing kilocalories.
The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy and reliability of the following electronic pedometers for measuring steps: Freestyle Pacer Pro (FR), Kenz Lifecorder (KZ), New Lifestyles NL-2000 (NL), Omron HJ-105 (OM), Oregon Scientific PE316CA (OR), Sportline 330 (SL330) and 345 (SL345), Walk4Life LS 2525 (WL), Yamax Skeletone EM-180 (SK), and the Yamax Digi-Walker SW-701 (DW).
Ten males (34.7 +/- 12.6 yr) (mean +/- SD) and 10 females (43.1 +/- 19.9 yr) ranging in BMI from 19.8 to 33.6 kg.m-2 walked 400-m around an outdoor track while wearing two pedometers of the same model (one on the right and left sides of the body) for each of 10 models. Four pedometers of each model were assessed in this fashion. The actual steps taken were tallied by a researcher.
The KZ, NL, and DW were the most accurate in counting steps, displaying values that were within +/-3% of the actual steps taken, 95% of the time. The SL330 and OM were the least accurate, displaying values that were within +/-37% of the actual steps, 95% of the time. The reliability within a single model (Cronbach's alpha) was >0.80 for all pedometers with the exception of the SL330. The intramodel reliability was exceptionally high (>0.99) in the KZ, OM, NL, and the DW.
Due to the variation that exists among models in regard to the internal mechanism and sensitivity, not all pedometers count steps accurately. Thus, it is important for researchers who use pedometers to assess physical activity to be aware of their accuracy and reliability.
This study aimed to assess sitting time and number of steps taken each day, and the relationships between these variables, in a sample of working Australian adults. Workers (N = 185) wore a pedometer for 7 days and recorded the number of steps taken and time spent sitting each day. Average time spent sitting on weekdays was 9.4 (SD = 2.40) hr, with about half spent sitting at work. Despite this, the average steps taken each day (M = 8,873, SD = 2,757) was higher on weekdays than on weekend days. There was a clear inverse relationship between sitting time at work and number of steps taken on weekdays, r = -.34, p < .001); those in the highest tertile for sitting time reported about 3,000 fewer daily steps. Workers in managerial and professional occupations reported more time sitting at work (M = 6.2 hr per day) and lower weekday step counts (M = 7,883, N = 43) than technical (M = 3.3 hr sitting at work and 10,731 weekday steps, N = 33) and blue collar workers (M = 1.6 hours sitting and 11,784 steps, N = 11). The findings suggest those whose daily work involves long hours of sitting should be the focus of efforts to promote physical activity both within and outside the workplace.
The purpose of this study was to compare the step values of multiple brands of pedometers over a 24-h period. The following 13 electronic pedometers were assessed in the study: Accusplit Alliance 1510 (AC), Freestyle Pacer Pro (FR), Colorado on the Move (CO), Kenz Lifecorder (KZ), New-Lifestyles NL-2000 (NL), Omron HJ-105 (OM), Oregon Scientific PE316CA (OR), Sportline 330 (SL330) and 345 (SL345), Walk4Life LS 2525 (WL), Yamax Skeletone EM-180 (SK), Yamax Digi-Walker SW-200 (YX200), and the Yamax Digi-Walker SW-701 (YX701).
Ten males (39.5 +/- 16.6 yr, mean +/- SD) and 10 females (43.3 +/- 16.6 yr) ranging in BMI from 19.8 to 35.4 kg.m-2 wore two pedometers for a 24-h period. The criterion pedometer (YX200) was worn on the left side of the body, and a comparison pedometer was worn on the right. Steps counted by each device were recorded at the end of the day for each of the thirteen pedometers.
Subjects took an average of 9244 steps.d-1. The KZ, YX200, NL, YX701, and SL330 yielded mean values that were not significantly different from the criterion. The FR, AC, SK, CO, and SL345 significantly underestimated steps (P < 0.05) and the WL, OM, and OR significantly overestimated steps (P < 0.05) when compared with the criterion. In addition, some pedometers underestimated by 25% whereas others overestimated by 45%.
The KZ, YX200, NL, and YX701 appear to be suitable for most research purposes. Given the potential for pedometers in physical activity research, it is necessary that there be consistency across studies in the measurement of "steps per day."
Sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for excess body weight and other health problems. There are no published data on sitting time at work, or how this is related to occupation and sector (branch of business). No published study has shown whether extended sitting at work is compensated for by sitting less during leisure time.
This study used data from a continuous cross-sectional survey, from 2000 to 2005 (N=7720). Workers were asked how many minutes they spent sitting during the preceding day, both at work and in their leisure time. To test differences in sitting times among occupational groups and sectors, descriptive analyses and analyses of variance were carried out in 2006.
On average, the Dutch working population reported sitting for 7 hours each day, one third of which was at work. Occupational groups and sectors differed significantly in sedentary behavior, mainly involving sitting periods at work. Workers spending long periods sitting at work did not compensate by sitting less during their leisure time.
Workers spend a substantial part of their waking and working time seated. Those who sat for long periods at work did not compensate for this lack of activity by adopting less-sedentary behaviors during leisure time. To prevent health problems, the best approach may be to reduce sedentary behavior at work, when traveling to and from work, and during leisure time.