Blood pressure response to interrupting workplace sitting time with non-exercise physical activity: Results of a 12-month cohort study
- Authors: Mainsbridge, Casey , Ahuja, Kiran , Williams, Andrew , Bird, Marie-Louise , Cooley, Dean , Pedersen, Scott
- Date: 2018
- Type: Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Vol. 60, no. 9 (2018), p. 769-774
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the blood pressure (BP) effects of a yearlong e-health solution designed to interrupt prolonged occupational sitting time. METHODS:BP data of 228 desk-based employees (45.1 ± 10.5 years) were analyzed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. RESULTS:Systolic BP significantly reduced from baseline for the first 9 months (1.0 to 3.4 mmHg P < 0.01) while diastolic and mean arterial pressure decreased for the full 12-months (4 to 5 mmHg for diastolic pressure and 3.6 to 4.2 mmHg for MAP all P < 0.01).Participants used the e-health solution 5.5 ± 2.0 times/day in the first 3 months which reduced to 4.2 ± 2.5 times/day by the end of the study (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:An e-health solution designed to increase non-exercise physical activity by interrupting sitting time in the workplace is feasible and produced long-term reductions in blood pressure.
Is self-reporting workplace activity worthwhile? Validity and reliability of Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire in desk-based workers BMC Public Health
- Authors: Pedersen, Scott , Kitic, Cecilia , Bird, Marie-Louise , Mainsbridge, Casey , Cooley, Dean
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMC Public Health. Vol. 16, no. 1 (2016), p.1-6
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Accelerometers can obtain precise measurements of movements during the day. However, the individual activity pattern varies from day-to-day and there is limited evidence on measurement days needed to obtain sufficient reliability. The aim of this study was to examine variability in accelerometer derived data on sedentary behaviour and physical activity at work and in leisure-time during week days among Danish office employees. Methods: We included control participants (n = 135) from the Take a Stand! Intervention; a cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 19 offices. Sitting time and physical activity were measured using an ActiGraph GT3X+ fixed on the thigh and data were processed using Acti4 software. Variability was examined for sitting time, standing time, steps and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day by multilevel mixed linear regression modelling. Results: Results of this study showed that the number of days needed to obtain a reliability of 80% when measuring sitting time was 4.7 days for work and 5.5 days for leisure time. For physical activity at work, 4.0 days and 4.2 days were required to measure steps and MVPA, respectively. During leisure time, more monitoring time was needed to reliably estimate physical activity (6.8 days for steps and 5.8 days for MVPA). Conclusions: The number of measurement days needed to reliably estimate activity patterns was greater for leisure time than for work time. The domain specific variability is of great importance to researchers and health promotion workers planning to use objective measures of sedentary behaviour and physical activity.
Activity behaviors of university staff in the workplace : A pilot study
- Authors: Bird, Marie-Louise , Shing, Cecilia , Mainsbridge, Casey , Cooley, Dean , Pedersen, Scott
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Physical Activity and Health Vol. 12, no. 8 (2015), p. 1128-1132
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Sedentary behavior is related to metabolic syndrome and might have implications for the long-term health of workers in a low activity environment. The primary aim of this pilot study was to determine activity levels of adults working at a University during work hours. A secondary aim was to determine the relationship between actual and perceived activity levels. Methods: Activity levels of university staff (n = 15, male = 7, age = 53 ± 7 years, BMI = 26.5 ± 2.5kg•m2) were monitored over 5 consecutive workdays using SenseWear accelerometers, then participants completed a questionnaire of their perception of workplace sedentary time. Results: Each participant spent 71.5 ± 13.1% (358 ± 78 min) of their workday being sedentary (< 1.5 METs), 15.6 ± 9.0% involved in light activity (1.5-3 METs), 11.7 ± 10.0% in moderate activity (3-5 METs), and 1.1 ± 1.3% in vigorous activity (> 5 METs) (P <.0001). The mean difference between actual (SenseWear < 1.5 METs) and perceived sitting time was-2 ± 32%; however, perceived sedentary time was reported with a range of under-to-over estimation of-75% to 51%. Conclusion: This pilot study identifies long periods of low metabolic activity during the workday and poor perception of individual sedentary time. Interventions to reduce sedentary time in the workplace may be necessary to ensure that the work environment does not adversely affect long-term health. © 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc.
We should know better – high rates of sedentary behaviours in a University workplace
- Authors: Bird, Marie-Louise , Shing, Cecilia , Cooley, Dean , Mainsbridge, Casey , Pedersen, Scott
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Australian Physiotherapy Association Conference, 17-20 October 2013, Melbourne, Australia
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed: