Too Much Sitting

Question 1

What is Sedentary Behaviour?

Answer 1

• Any waking behaviour characterized by an energy expenditure < 1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs) while in a sitting or reclining position

Question 2

What is a MET?

Answer 2

one MET is defined as 1kcal/kg/hour and is roughly equivalent to the oxygen cost of sitting quietly

Question 3

Historial Perspective

Answer 3

• first evidence that inactivity is bad for you was published in the Lancet by Morris et al in 1953
• included in their seminal work was an ecologic study of heart disease mortality and occupational physical activity

Question 4

Study: Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women

Answer 4

Interpretation:
- high levels of moderate intensity physical activity (about 60-75 min a day) seem to eliminate increased risk of death assosciated with high sitting time. Although does not eliminate the increased risk associates with high TV-viewing time

Question 5

Physical Activity and Mortality: The Potential Impact of Sitting

Answer 5

• In addition to promoting reductions in sedentary behaviours, these results indicate that a strong public health focus should remain on increasing levels of MVPA, irrespective of the amount of time people spend sitting in a day. Individuals who are forced to sit throughout the day because of educational or occupational constraints should aim for the high end of the MVPA recommendations, not the low end.

Question 6

Health Consequences of Sedentarism

Answer 6

Compromises
- bone mineral density
- vascular health
Risk Factor for..
- obesity
- some cancers

Question 7

Study: Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death

Answer 7

• 18 studies, 794,577 participants

- compared “greatest sedentary time with “lowest”

Question 8

What is a Telomere?

Answer 8

• the highly repetitive end segment or terminator of a DNA chain that functions as a cap
• telomeres stop chromosomes from fraying, clumping together and scrambling genetic code–lifespan is linked to their length
• scientists have found that the less time people spend sitting, the longer their telomeres

Question 9

How many hours a day are Canadian adults sedentary?

Answer 9

9.7 hours

Question 10

What does a sensor do?

Answer 10

• picks up the amplitude and frequency of movement -> produces an electrical current of various magnitude
• stores the information as activity counts-> converted to AEE/METS based on default or predetermined cut points

Question 11

What is an “active couch potato”?

Answer 11

• an individual who meets physical activity guidelines but spends most of the day being sedentary

Question 12

Study: Physical activity of Canadian adults: Accelerometer results from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey

Answer 12

• 15% adults accumulate 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous pa per week

Question 13

Why is getting people to exercise failing?

Answer 13

• exercise is not enjoyable
• people do not see immediate benefits form exercise
• exercise is often though of as activity you do at a special facility
• people don’t want to make time for exercise
• exercise may lead to compensatory behaviour

Question 14

Why is getting poepel to sit less easier?

Answer 14

• sitting less is not unpleasant (in most circumstances)
• strategies doe sitting less can be implemented at any time and almost any place
• extra time doesnt have to be made for istting less
• sitting less leads to more incidental PA
• incidental PA is easier to do than MVPA for most people

Question 15

How do you reduce your risk?

Answer 15

Interrupt all sedentary behaviour with frequent breaks

Question 16

Breaks in sedentary time

Answer 16

Lower
- waist circumference
- systolic blood pressure
- glucose
- insulin
- triglycerides
Higher
- HDL-cholesterol

Question 17

What is the effectiveness of breaking up sedentary behaviour?

Answer 17

• breaks improve glucose levels and insulin levels

Question 18

How do apple watch’s help to stop sedentary behaviour?

Answer 18

• they sense when you stand move just a bit and give you credit for it
• if you’ve been sitting for almost an hour, it reminds you to get up
• you close the stand ring when you’ve stood for at least one minute in 12 different hours during the day.

Question 19

Study: B-Mobline - A Smartphone-Based Intervention to Reduce Sedentary Time in Overweight/Obese Individuals

Answer 19

Intervention:
- 3 minute breaks after 30 minutes of sitting
Results:
- 47 minute reduction from 593 of daily sitting (6% reduction)
Conclusion:
- The smartphone-based intervention significantly reduced SED. Prompting frequent short activity breaks is an effective way to decrease SED. Future work should determine whether these SED reductions can be maintained long-term/

Question 20

Study: Evaluation of sit-stand workstations in an office setting: a randomized controlled train

Answer 20

Background:
- excessive sitting time is a risk facto for cardiovascular disease mortality and morbidity independent of physical activity. This aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a sit-stand workstation on sitting time, and vascular, metabolic and musculoskeletal outcomes in office workers, and to investigate workstation acceptability and feasibility
Results:
- intervention group sat much less and stood much more, while the control group did not
Conclusion:
- short-term use of a feasible sit-stand workstation reduced daily sitting time and led to beneficial improvements in cardiometabolic risk parameters in asymtomatic office works. These findings imply that if the observed use of the sit-stand workstations continuied over a longer duration, sit-stand workstations may have important ramifications for the prevention and reduction or cardiometabolic risk in a large proportion of the working population

Question 21

Study: Increasing Non-sedentary Behaviours in University Students Using Text Messages: Randomized Controlled Trial

Answer 21

Aim:
- the effectiveness of text messages as a way to reduce sedentary behaviour in university students
- higher break behaviour
- self-efficacy
Methods - Measures
- Demographics
- Self-efficacy and Break Behaviour
- Sedentary and Light Intensity Physical Activity Questionnaire
- Physical Activity Recall
Intervention
- mix of challenges, facts and reminders sent twice daily, and tailored
Control:
- random health/food facts and tips
Results:
- intervention group improved in all behaviours
- plausible intervention
- self-efficacy cognitions correlated well with target behaviours