Alternatives for Measuring Sitting Accumulation in Workplace Surveys

Abstract

Objectives: To develop and assess the measurement properties of self-report measures of accumulation of sitting time. Methods: Seven candidate measures were collected in 51 workers from three office environments (79% women) via online questionnaire administered immediately before and after 7-day monitoring periods (activPAL3 24-hour protocol with diary recorded work hours). Results: Three measures had some validity ( P < 0.05 vs activPAL): % of sitting in long bouts more than or equal to 30 minutes, sitting strategy frequency (0 to 100), and interruption rate (n/h sitting). Agreement was limited. Some reliability (intraclass correlation or kappa P < 0.05) was seen for these measures, strategy variety (0 to 100), typical day (five categories), and making a conscious effort to sit less (yes/no). Conclusions: Two brief and one longer option may suit workplace studies requiring self-report measures of sitting accumulation. Validity was weaker for sitting accumulation than sitting time.

Physical Activity and Sitting Durations Among Employers and Employees of Microenterprises

“…In our study, we found similar results as Thorp et al and Kazi et al, in terms of sitting duration at work [15] and the gender differences among those hours [27]. Although sedentary behavior could be more common in various occupations, occupational sitting is considered to be job-dependent [21,25,28]. That's why we could not define the self-reported worksite sitting duration as "sedentary behavior" for our study sample.…”

“…The WHO's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Guidelines suggest that replacing sedentary time with physical activities (including those of light intensity) can contribute to positive health outcomes [21][22][23]. Our study revealed that both employers and employees met the WHO criterion, which recommends that adults undertake at least 150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week [21,23]. This result was mostly based on their reported regular sport activities, including structured walking.…”

“…Self-reported sitting duration (occupational or daily) is an indicator of sedentary behavior [21,22,24,25], which leads to increased risk of non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and musculoskeletal and respiratory illnesses [4,21,22,26]. Thorp et al reported that workers were sitting at work for approximately 3 to 5 hours per Health Problems of Civilization ISSN: 2353-6942; eISSN: 2354-0265 day in the Netherlands and Australia [15].…”

“…Some sedentary activities, such as watching TV, spending a prolonged time on computer games, or working on computers, are said to be more closely related to poor health when considering total sedentary time [22]. Therefore, the amount of sitting time and how it is accumulated should be taken into consideration when measuring sedentary behavior [21,23,25].…”

Sitting less and moving more for improved metabolic and brain health in type 2 diabetes: ‘OPTIMISE your health’ trial protocol

“…OSPAQ has demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability [ 70 , 71 ]. Additional questions asked include the percentage of the work day that is occupied by prolonged sitting (sitting bouts equal to or greater than 30 min) is also obtained [ 72 ], as well as the proportion of the workday spent sitting in common occupational tasks [ 73 ]. Participants are asked to identify their desired levels of sitting, standing, and stepping during work and home hours [ 74 ].…”