Objectively Measured Total and Occupational Sedentary Time in Three Work Settings

PLOS ONE, Dec 2019

Background Sedentary behaviour increases the risk for morbidity. Our primary aim is to determine the proportion and factors associated with objectively measured total and occupational sedentary time in three work settings. Secondary aim is to study the proportion of physical activity and prolonged sedentary bouts. Methods Data were obtained using ActiGraph accelerometers from employees of: 1) a financial service provider (n = 49 men, 31 women), 2) two research institutes (n = 30 men, 57 women), and 3) a construction company (n = 38 men). Total (over the whole day) and occupational sedentary time, physical activity and prolonged sedentary bouts (lasting ≥30 minutes) were calculated by work setting. Linear regression analyses were performed to examine general, health and work-related factors associated with sedentary time. Results The employees of the financial service provider and the research institutes spent 76–80% of their occupational time in sedentary behaviour, 18–20% in light intensity physical activity and 3–5% in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Occupational time in prolonged sedentary bouts was 27–30%. Total time was less sedentary (64–70%), and had more light intensity physical activity (26–33%). The employees of the construction company spent 44% of their occupational time in sedentary behaviour, 49% in light, and 7% in moderate intensity physical activity, and spent 7% in sedentary bouts. Total time spent in sedentary behavior was 56%, 40% in light, and 4% in moderate intensity physical behaviour, and 12% in sedentary bouts. For women, low to intermediate education was the only factor that was negatively associated with occupational sedentary time. Conclusions Sedentary behaviour is high among white-collar employees, especially in highly educated women. A relatively small proportion of sedentary time was accrued in sedentary bouts. It is recommended that worksite health promotion efforts should focus on reducing sedentary behaviour through improving light intensity physical activity.

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Objectively Measured Total and Occupational Sedentary Time in Three Work Settings

March Objectively Measured Total and Occupational Sedentary Time in Three Work Settings Paula van Dommelen 0 1 Jennifer K. Coffeng 0 1 Hidde P. van der Ploeg 0 1 Allard J. van der Beek 0 1 Cécile R. L. Boot 0 1 Ingrid J. M. Hendriksen 0 1 0 1 Department of Life Style, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO , Leiden , The Netherlands , 2 Department of Public and Occupational Health , EMGO 1 Editor: Olga Y Gorlova, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, UNITED STATES 2 Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center (VUmc) , Amsterdam , The Netherlands, 3 Sedentary behaviour increases the risk for morbidity. Our primary aim is to determine the proportion and factors associated with objectively measured total and occupational sedentary time in three work settings. Secondary aim is to study the proportion of physical activity and prolonged sedentary bouts. - OPEN ACCESS Data Availability Statement: The Data Protection officer of VU University Medical Center has ethical restrictions to making our data publicly accessible, because the data can lead to personally identifiable health information. The data includes the name of the company, age, education, being overweight, and other personal characteristics (see Table 1, final column n=38). The readers may contact Allard J van der Beek () to request the data. The data will be available upon request to all interested researchers. Background Methods Results Data were obtained using ActiGraph accelerometers from employees of: 1) a financial ser vice provider (n = 49 men, 31 women), 2) two research institutes (n = 30 men, 57 women), and 3) a construction company (n = 38 men). Total (over the whole day) and occupational sedentary time, physical activity and prolonged sedentary bouts (lasting 30 minutes) were calculated by work setting. Linear regression analyses were performed to examine general, health and work-related factors associated with sedentary time. The employees of the financial service provider and the research institutes spent 76–80% of their occupational time in sedentary behaviour, 18–20% in light intensity physical activity and 3–5% in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Occupational time in prolonged sedentary bouts was 27–30%. Total time was less sedentary (64–70%), and had more light intensity physical activity (26–33%). The employees of the construction company spent 44% of their occupational time in sedentary behaviour, 49% in light, and 7% in moderate intensity physical activity, and spent 7% in sedentary bouts. Total time spent in sedentary behavior was 56%, 40% in light, and 4% in moderate intensity physical behaviour, and 12% in sedentary bouts. For women, low to intermediate education was the only factor that was negatively associated with occupational sedentary time. Funding: The authors have no support or funding to report. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Conclusions Sedentary behaviour is high among white-collar employees, especially in highly educated women. A relatively small proportion of sedentary time was accrued in sedentary bouts. It is recommended that worksite health promotion efforts should focus on reducing sedentary behaviour through improving light intensity physical activity. Introduction Over the past fifty years, work has become increasingly sedentary [ 1 ]. Sedentary behaviours (from the Latin word sedere–‘to sit’) refer to those activities (i.e., during commuting, at work, in the domestic environment and during leisure) that require a very low energy expenditure ( 1.5 Metabolic Equivalent of Task) while sitting or reclining [ 2 ]. There has been a rapid accumulation of epidemiological studies to show that time spent sedentary, often independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, is associated with premature mortality, certain cancers (i.e., colon, endometrial and lung), type 2 diabetes, obesity, and biomarkers of cardio-metabolic health [ 3–12 ]. Moreover, prolonged sedentary time or uninterrupted sedentary periods has been shown to be detrimentally associated with several cardio-metabolic health outcomes [ 11,12 ]. A meta-analysis showed that interrupting bouts of sedentary behavior with light-intensity activity might help control adiposity and postprandial glycemia [ 13 ]. An expert-based recommendation rooted in musculoskeletal health, advises to change posture (i.e., from sitting to standing or walking) after a prolonged sitting period lasting 30 minutes [ 14 ]. As approximately one third to half of our daily sitting occurs at work, occupational sitting has important occupational and public health implications [ 14–17 ]. In a Dutch cross-sectional survey, employees reported sitting on average seven hours per day, with the highest amount of sitting in the information technology, banking and insurance sectors and the lowest amount in the construction, health care and cat (...truncated)


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Paula van Dommelen, Jennifer K. Coffeng, Hidde P. van der Ploeg, Allard J. van der Beek, Cécile R. L. Boot, Ingrid J. M. Hendriksen. Objectively Measured Total and Occupational Sedentary Time in Three Work Settings, PLOS ONE, 2016, Volume 11, Issue 3, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149951