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The Health Risks of Prolonged Occupational Sitting and the Benefits of Physical Activity

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The 2020 World Health Organisation guidelines on physical activity highlighted the importance of reducing sedentary behaviour due to its negative health effects. However, the specific impact of prolonged sitting at work, particularly in the context of varying levels of physical activity, has not been fully explored. A recent prospective cohort study in Taiwan, published earlier this year in JAMA Network Open sheds light on this issue, focusing on the health outcomes associated with occupational sitting among apparently healthy individuals. The study followed 481,688 participants over an average period of 12.85 years, collecting data on their occupational sitting habits, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), lifestyle choices, and metabolic health. The findings revealed that individuals who predominantly sat at work had a 16% higher risk of all-cause mortality, and a 34% higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality compared to those who predominantly did not sit at work. These increased risks persisted even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, education, smoking, drinking, and body mass index. To counteract the negative effects of prolonged sitting, the study suggests that individuals who sit most of the day at work should aim to add 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day. This additional…

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What strategies work to sit less and move more?

BeUpstanding Stories

What do you do to sit less and move more? Do you fill up your water bottle regularly? Take a stretching break? Have lunch away from your computer? As part of the BeUpstanding program, staff are asked to indicate the extent to which they took part in a range of 10 sit less strategies and 11 move more strategies in the past month, with response options ranging from never to nearly always/always. Staff could also respond not applicable, with the list of 21 strategies informed by our previous research. Dr Sam Stephens from the BeUpstanding team recently presented on some of the findings from this strategy data and how it related to behaviour change at the 3rd Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity (ASPA) Conference in Wellington, New Zealand. She was able to show that BeUpstanding strategies genuinely do help staff to sit less and move more. What was found to be of particular benefit was: doing a wide range of strategies performing strategies regularly, and choosing highly effective strategies, with some strategies really punching above their weight! In her presentation, Dr Stephens showcased the popularity of each strategy against its effectiveness at helping staff to sit less and move more.…

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Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep Quality

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High-quality sleep is an important factor in sustaining health and improving well-being. Previous evidence has demonstrated the positive associations between increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviour (SB) with sleep quality. In a recent study published in Scientific Reports in January 2023, researchers in Japan aimed to explore the relationship between sedentary behaviour (SB), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sleep quality in middle-aged adults. The study used an isotemporal substitution approach to examine the relationship between physical activity and sleep quality. This approach involves replacing one type of activity with another while keeping the total amount of time spent active the same. The participants were middle-aged adults who wore accelerometers to objectively measure their daily time spent in sedentary behaviour, light physical activity (LPA), and MVPA. They also completed self-reported questionnaires to assess their rest by sleep and sleep quality. The results of the study showed that each 60-minute unit of sedentary time or LPA replaced with MVPA was associated with improved rest by sleep in women. However, there were no significant associations found between physical activity levels and sleep measures in men across all three models. The study highlights the importance of considering substitutional relationships…

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Can we transfer what works in the office to the home work environment?

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COVID-19 has brought about massive shifts in working practices resulting in many employees now working at home/remote working at least some days of the week. While there have now been a number of studies addressing prolonged sitting at the workplace, how these strategies translate to the home work environment is less well understood.  An article titled ‘What works to reduce sedentary behavior in the office, and could these intervention components transfer to the home working environment?: A rapid review and transferability appraisal’ was recently published in Frontiers in sports and active living to help understand this issue. The aim of the review was to build on existing evidence to identify what works to reduce sedentary behaviour in an office environment, and consider whether these could be transferrable to support employees working at home. The results of a systematic search of databases CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, CINHAL, and SportDiscus from 10 August 2017 to 6 September 2021 were added to the references included in a 2018 Cochrane review of office based sedentary interventions. Informed by the Behavior Change Wheel, the most commonly used intervention functions and behavior change techniques were identified from the extracted data. Finally, a sample of common intervention strategies were…

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What did champions like about the BeUpstanding program?

BeUpstanding Stories

Upon completing the 8-week implementation phase of BeUpstanding, champions are asked to fill out a program completion survey via the BeUpstanding toolkit. The survey asks various questions about what strategies they did as a team, facilitators and barriers to implementing the strategies, as well as their experience as a champion in delivering the program. As part of our evaluation of BeUpstanding, we are looking at what worked well in the program and what aspects of the program workplace champions liked. This articles summarises champion responses to the question “What did you like about the BeUpstanding Program?” The easy to follow and simple structure of the program, along with the resources and information provided in the toolkit were key aspects of the program champions enjoyed, as highlighted by the following champion responses: “Ease of implementation, no cost, good resources. Ability to implement from home and in our purpose-designed office space.” “Easy to follow, well structured. Posters were great and the toolkit was well thought out and put together.” “Easy to implement and tailor to suit the work environment & people’s abilities.” “Resources that were engaging and easy to access and use” “Clear, structured weekly guide about what to do.” Another feature…

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How do BeUpstanding teams choose their top 3 strategies to stand up, sit less and move more?

BeUpstanding Stories

One of the key components of the BeUpstanding program is to hold a staff consultation workshop with all team members. The aim of the workshop is to provide information about the program to staff, give them the opportunity to discuss potential ways in which they can stand up, sit less, and move more at work, and the collectively select three top strategies to implement as a team during the 8-week program and beyond. Ideally the workshop is held in-person, however, we know that COVID and other factors have affected how and where people work.  As a result, an in-person staff workshop was not always possible for the teams taking part in our national trial of BeUpstanding and teams conducted this consultation and gained staff input in various ways. As part of our research, we are interested in finding out how staff were engaged in decision making around potential BeUpstanding strategies. This data was obtained via the program completion survey that workplace BeUpstanding champions completed upon finishing the 8-week implementation phase of the program. In the survey, champions were asked how they gained input from staff on how they wanted to BeUpstanding (in addition to or instead of the staff workshop),…

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Modelling the potential health and economic benefits of reducing population sitting time in Australia

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Strong evidence indicates that excessive time spent sitting (sedentary behaviour) is detrimentally associated with multiple chronic diseases. A paper titled “Modelling the potential health and economic benefits of reducing population sitting time in Australia” has recently been published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and describes the development of the first Australian sedentary behaviour model that can be used to predict the long term consequences of interventions targeted at reducing sedentary behaviour through reductions in sitting time. The authors report that sedentary behaviour is prevalent among adults in Australia and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, estimating the potential health benefits and healthcare cost saving associated with reductions in population sitting time, could be useful for the development of public health initiatives. A sedentary behaviour model was developed and incorporated into an existing proportional, multi-state, life table Markov model (ACE-Obesity Policy model). This model simulates the 2019 Australian population (age 18 years and above) and estimates the incidence, prevalence and mortality of five diseases associated with sedentary behaviour (type 2 diabetes, stroke, endometrial, breast and colorectal cancer). According to the model, if all Australian adults sat no more than 4 h per day, this would result in health…

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Champion Insights – Barriers to engaging management and staff in BeUpstanding

BeUpstanding Stories

Implementing a well-being program in a workplace can come with some challenges, one of which can be engaging staff and/or management in the program. As part of the national trial of BeUpstanding we are interested in learning what some of the barriers were in relation to engaging staff and management in the BeUpstanding program, a workplace champion led program aimed at supporting staff to sit less and move more in the workplace. As part of the program completion survey that BeUpstanding Champions complete upon finishing the 8-week implementation phase of the BeUpstanding program, they are asked the following question: “Tell us about any barriers to engaging management or staff in the BeUpstanding program that you have noticed”. The changes associated with working from home due to COVID-19, namely the lack of visibility and the lack of equipment, were identified as common barriers. It’s hard to get everyone on board.  Working from home made it more challenging – less visibility. Some staff were working from home during the program where they didn’t have sit to stand desks and fellow workers to encourage more movement. A lack of time/being too busy, and only having support from some levels of management, were also…

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Economics of Sedentary Behaviour

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It is well established that sedentary behaviour is an established risk factor for several diseases; however, its economic impacts are less understood. Published in Preventative Medicine last week, a paper titled “Economics of sedentary behaviour: A systematic review of cost of illness, cost-effectiveness, and return on investment studies” is the first review that has investigated the broader economic credentials of Sedentary Behaviour. The authors, Nguyen P et al., reviewed the literature on the economic costs associated with excessive sedentary behaviour and the cost-effectiveness of interventions targeting sedentary time. The review identified nine articles. Three reported healthcare costs associated with excessive sedentary time, and found that healthcare costs associated with excessive sedentary time as reported in cost of illness studies were substantial. However, none explored non-health sector costs. In the six articles which were economic evaluations of interventions targeting sedentary behaviour, they adopted a societal perspective. However, costs included differed depending on the intervention context. The authors concluded that excessive sedentary behaviour is likely associated with excess healthcare costs and of the limited interventions targeting sedentary behaviour reduction that have been economically evaluated, most were likely to be cost-effective. The most promising interventions from a cost-effectiveness perspective were those that included…

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BeUpstanding Champion Perspectives: What Makes a Good Champion

BeUpstanding Stories

In a previous blog article titled ‘What makes a good champion’ we wrote about some of the qualities that make an effective workplace champion. Previous research suggests that those who have a genuine passion for health and wellbeing and are enthusiastic about the opportunity to inspire others towards a healthier lifestyle (Healy et al., 2018) are the most effective champions. They must also be committed to making long-term positive health changes in their workplace and display a good relationship with their peers. More general personality traits like outgoingness and motivation have been positively linked to champion performance (Howell, 2005). Highly motivated individuals are also more likely to engage with the content and be prepared to persist when faced with challenges. As part of the survey champions complete after finishing the 8-week BeUpstanding Program, they are asked what qualities or characteristics they believe make an effective champion in the BeUpstanding program, as well as what characteristics and qualities they possess that they feel helped them be a champion for their team. Common attributes identified by champions that they believe make a good BeUpstanding champion, based on their experiences, included motivated, approachable, committed, and positive. These qualities and others can be seen…

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