An examination of compensation effects in accelerometer-measured occupational and non-occupational physical activity

Abstract

Self-report data suggests a large proportion of total physical activity (PA) occurs at work. However, adults with higher levels of occupational PA may compensate by engaging in less non-occupational PA. The study aims were to 1) estimate the intensity, volume, and duration of PA in American adults that occurs at work, and 2) determine if those more active at work are less active outside of work. A cross-sectional sample of full-time employed adults (N = 510) was recruited from Georgia city and county governments in 2013–2015. Participants wore an Actigraph GT3X + accelerometer for two weeks. In 2016, for 442 participants with complete data including work schedules and self-reported job titles, accelerometer wear minutes were classified as either occupational or non-occupational, and as sedentary, LPA (light-intensity PA), or MVPA (moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA). The proportion of daily PA that occurred during work was 41.2% for total PA, 41.0% for LPA, and 39.5% for MVPA. Higher levels of occupational LPA were associated with lower levels of non-occupational LPA (r = − 0.38, P < 0.0001). However, higher levels of occupational MVPA were associated with higher levels of non-occupational MVPA (r = 0.17, P < 0.0001). These associations remained significant in a MANOVA adjusting for labor sector and other covariates. On average, employed adults get more LPA and MVPA outside of work. Adults who do more occupational MVPA do not compensate by doing less non-occupational MVPA. In contrast, adults who do more occupational LPA do compensate by doing less non-occupational LPA. Evaluations of interventions to reduce sedentary behavior should be designed to detect compensation effects.

Does Physically Demanding Work Hinder a Physically Active Lifestyle in Low Socioeconomic Workers? A Compositional Data Analysis Based on Accelerometer Data

“…The potential adverse influence of OPA on LTPA is understudied and unclear [ 11 ]. Studies report that individuals with high levels of OPA compensate by spending less leisure time on physical activities [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Other studies find individuals with physically active jobs being more likely to perform physical activity during leisure time [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

“…Another reason for the inconsistent findings could be differences in study populations. The majority of studies are based on samples strongly dominated by middle or higher SEP groups [ 19 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 27 ]. However, having lower SEP groups underrepresented in study samples hinders inferences on the effect of OPA and LTPA in this high-risk population.…”

Can childcare work be designed to promote moderate and vigorous physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and health? Study protocol for the Goldilocks-childcare randomised controlled trial

“…To compensate for insufficient physical activity at work, numerous workplace health promotion initiatives have then attempted to improve employees' physical capacity and health by offering physical exercise at the workplace [7,8]. However, these initiatives have not been successful in reaching the employees most in need [9][10][11]. Also, workplace physical exercise programmes are often not appealing to employers, since they require time away from productive work, and thus being a costly initiative.…”

Wavelet Transforms Based Fall Detection with Neuro-Fuzzy Systems Based Feature Selection

“…Previous studies to detect falls with a threshold method [1][2] [3] and a method by the neural network [4]. Smart-phone and wearable-sensors are used for fall detection [5][6] [7].…”

“…5. W 1 , W 2 , and W 3 are moved down or up, v1 and v 2 are moved up to a i , and v 3 stays in the same position. After accomplishing Adjust(B l ), each of all fuzzy sets in hyperbox node B l inFig.…”