Descriptive epidemiology of domain-specific sitting in working adults: the Stormont Study. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • BACKGROUND: Given links between sedentary behaviour and unfavourable health outcomes, there is a need to understand the influence of socio-demographic factors on sedentary behaviour to inform effective interventions. This study examined domain-specific sitting times reported across socio-demographic groups of office workers. METHODS: The analyses are cross-sectional and based on a survey conducted within the Stormont Study, which is tracking employees in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Participants self-reported their daily sitting times across multiple domains (work, TV, travel, PC use and leisure) on workdays and non-workdays, along with their physical activity and socio-demographic variables (sex, age, marital status, BMI, educational attainment and work pattern). Total and domain-specific sitting on workdays and non-workdays were compared across socio-demographic groups using multivariate analyses of covariance. RESULTS: Completed responses were obtained from 4436 participants. For the whole sample, total daily sitting times were higher on workdays in comparison to non-workdays (625 168versus 469 210 min/day, P < 0.001). On workdays and non-workdays, higher sitting times were reported by individuals aged 18-29 years, obese individuals, full-time workers and single/divorced/widowed individuals (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Interventions are needed to combat the high levels of sedentary behaviour observed in office workers, particularly among the highlighted demographic groups. Interventions should target workplace and leisure-time sitting.

published proceedings

  • J Public Health (Oxf)

altmetric score

  • 1.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Clemes, S. A., Houdmont, J., Munir, F., Wilson, K., Kerr, R., & Addley, K.

citation count

  • 50

complete list of authors

  • Clemes, Stacy A||Houdmont, Jonathan||Munir, Fehmidah||Wilson, Kelly||Kerr, Robert||Addley, Ken

publication date

  • March 2016