Occupational Physical Activity Habits of UK Office Workers: Cross-Sectional Data from the Active Buildings Study

Lee Smith, Alexia Sawyer, Benjamin Gardner, Katri Seppala, Marcella Ucci, Alexi Marmot, Pippa Lally and Abi Fisher
Additional contact information
Lee Smith: The Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Alexia Sawyer: Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Benjamin Gardner: Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
Katri Seppala: Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Marcella Ucci: UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, UK
Alexi Marmot: UCL Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, Gordon House, 29 Gordon Square, London, WC1H OPP, UK
Pippa Lally: Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Abi Fisher: Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-10

Abstract: Habitual behaviours are learned responses that are triggered automatically by associated environmental cues. The unvarying nature of most workplace settings makes workplace physical activity a prime candidate for a habitual behaviour, yet the role of habit strength in occupational physical activity has not been investigated. Aims of the present study were to: (i) document occupational physical activity habit strength; and (ii) investigate associations between occupational activity habit strength and occupational physical activity levels. A sample of UK office-based workers ( n = 116; 53% female, median age 40 years, SD 10.52) was fitted with activPAL accelerometers worn for 24 h on five consecutive days, providing an objective measure of occupational step counts, stepping time, sitting time, standing time and sit-to-stand transitions. A self-report index measured the automaticity of two occupational physical activities (“being active” (e.g., walking to printers and coffee machines) and “stair climbing”). Adjusted linear regression models investigated the association between occupational activity habit strength and objectively-measured occupational step counts, stepping time, sitting time, standing time and sit-to-stand transitions. Eighty-one per cent of the sample reported habits for “being active”, and 62% reported habits for “stair climbing”. In adjusted models, reported habit strength for “being active” were positively associated with average occupational sit-to-stand transitions per hour (B = 0.340, 95% CI: 0.053 to 0.627, p = 0.021). “Stair climbing” habit strength was unexpectedly negatively associated with average hourly stepping time (B = −0.01, 95% CI: −0.01 to −0.00, p = 0.006) and average hourly occupational step count (B = −38.34, 95% CI: −72.81 to −3.88, p = 0.030), which may reflect that people with stronger stair-climbing habits compensate by walking fewer steps overall. Results suggest that stair-climbing and office-based occupational activity can be habitual. Interventions might fruitfully promote habitual workplace activity, although, in light of potential compensation effects, such interventions should perhaps focus on promoting moderate-intensity activity.

Keywords: occupational physical activity; sedentary behaviour; stair climbing; habit; automaticity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1214/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1214/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:6:p:1214-:d:151549

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().