Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns Before and During Pregnancy in a Multi-ethnic Sample of Asian Women in Singapore

Abstract

Participants substantially reduced PA and increased SB by 26-28 weeks of pregnancy. Further research is needed to better understand determinants of change in PA and SB and develop effective health promotion strategies.

Sedentary behaviours during pregnancy: a systematic review

“…The amount of time spent in sedentary behaviours was estimated in 8 studies using either objective [8–12, 30, 38, 44] or non-objective methods [42] (Table 3). …”

“…Of these studies 1 declared that sleeping was included [9], 2 stated that sleep time was not considered [8, 11], and the rest did not declare anything regarding sleep [10, 12, 44]. Meanwhile the study which assessed using a questionnaire found that women spent 2.4 h per day watching television and the mean of total sitting time was 8.6 h per day [42] (Table 3). …”

“…One study found that 15.3% of the studied women watched television or videos for 5 or more hours per day [37], other study found that 34% viewed television 2 h or more per day [29], and the last one found that 31.9% watched television more than 21 h per week, i.e. about 3 h per day [42]. Additionally 1 of the studies found that 24% of women were “mostly sitting” during usual daily activities [37] (Table 4).…”

“…Five studies compared sedentary behaviours between pregnant and non-pregnant women [35, 38, 42, 43, 47]. Four compared from before pregnancy to during pregnancy, and 1 compared pregnant women versus one year postpartum women [38].…”

“…Four compared from before pregnancy to during pregnancy, and 1 compared pregnant women versus one year postpartum women [38]. Three studies used non-objective methods [35, 42, 43], and 2 objective procedures [38, 47] to assess sedentary behaviours. All found that the time spent in sedentary activities is significantly greater among pregnant than non-pregnant women.…”