BackgroundOffice workers engage in high levels of sitting time. Effective, context-specific, and scalable strategies are needed to support widespread sitting reduction. This study aimed to evaluate organisational-support strategies alone or in combination with an activity tracker to reduce sitting in office workers.MethodsFrom one organisation, 153 desk-based office workers were cluster-randomised (by team) to organisational support only (e.g., manager support, emails; ‘Group ORG’, 9 teams, 87 participants), or organisational support plus LUMOback activity tracker (‘Group ORG + Tracker’, 9 teams, 66 participants). The waist-worn tracker provided real-time feedback and prompts on sitting and posture. ActivPAL3 monitors were used to ascertain primary outcomes (sitting time during work- and overall hours) and other activity outcomes: prolonged sitting time (≥30 min bouts), time between sitting bouts, standing time, stepping time, and number of steps. Health and work outcomes were assessed by questionnaire. Changes within each group (three- and 12 months) and differences between groups were analysed by linear mixed models. Missing data were multiply imputed.ResultsAt baseline, participants (46 % women, 23–58 years) spent (mean ± SD) 74.3 ± 9.7 % of their workday sitting, 17.5 ± 8.3 % standing and 8.1 ± 2.7 % stepping. Significant (p < 0.05) reductions in sitting time (both work and overall) were observed within both groups, but only at 12 months. For secondary activity outcomes, Group ORG significantly improved in work prolonged sitting, time between sitting bouts and standing time, and overall prolonged sitting time (12 months), and in overall standing time (three- and 12 months); while Group ORG + Tracker, significantly improved in work prolonged sitting, standing, stepping and overall standing time (12 months). Adjusted for confounders, the only significant between-group differences were a greater stepping time and step count for Group ORG + Tracker relative to Group ORG (+20.6 min/16 h day, 95 % CI: 3.1, 38.1, p = 0.021; +846.5steps/16 h day, 95 % CI: 67.8, 1625.2, p = 0.033) at 12 months. Observed changes in health and work outcomes were small and not statistically significant.ConclusionsOrganisational-support strategies with or without an activity tracker resulted in improvements in sitting, prolonged sitting and standing; adding a tracker enhanced stepping changes. Improvements were most evident at 12 months, suggesting the organisational-support strategies may have taken time to embed within the organisation.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry: ACTRN12614000252617. Registered 10 March 2014.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-016-0441-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundOffice workers spend a large proportion of their working hours sitting. This may contribute to an increased risk of chronic disease and premature mortality. While there is growing interest in workplace interventions targeting prolonged sitting, few qualitative studies have explored workers’ perceptions of reducing occupational sitting outside of an intervention context. This study explored barriers to reducing office workplace sitting, and the feasibility and acceptability of strategies targeting prolonged sitting in this context.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 20 office workers (50 % women), including employees and managers, in Melbourne, Australia. The three organisations (two large, and one small organisation) were from retail, health and IT industries and had not implemented any formalised approaches to sitting reduction. Questions covered barriers to reducing sitting, the feasibility of potential strategies aimed at reducing sitting, and perceived effects on productivity. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants reported spending most (median: 7.2 h) of their working hours sitting. The nature of computer-based work and exposure to furniture designed for a seated posture were considered to be the main factors influencing sitting time. Low cost strategies, such as standing meetings and in-person communication, were identified as feasible ways to reduce sitting time and were also perceived to have potential productivity benefits. However, social norms around appropriate workplace behaviour and workload pressures were perceived to be barriers to uptake of these strategies. The cost implications of height-adjustable workstations influenced perceptions of feasibility. Managers noted the need for an evidence-based business case supporting action on prolonged sitting, particularly in the context of limited resources and competing workplace health priorities.ConclusionsWhile a number of low-cost approaches to reduce workplace sitting are perceived to be feasible and acceptable in the office workplace, factors such as work demands and the organisational social context may still act as barriers to greater uptake. Building a supportive organisational culture and raising awareness of the adverse health effects of prolonged sitting may be important for improving individual-level and organisational-level motivation for change.

Broad-reach lifestyle interventions are effective, with further research needed to evaluate their generalizability and integration into cancer care.

ObjectiveTo examine the associations of sedentary time and physical activity with biomarkers of cardiometabolic health, including the potential collective impact of shifting mean time use from less- to more-active behaviours (cross-sectionally, using isotemporal substitution), in adults with type 2 diabetes.MethodsParticipants with overweight/obese body mass index (BMI; ≥25 kg/m2) (n = 279; 158 men, mean [SD] age = 58.2 [8.6] years) wore Actigraph GT1M accelerometers (waking hours; seven days) to assess moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), light-intensity activity, and sedentary time (segregated into non-prolonged [accumulated in bouts <30min] and prolonged [accumulated in bouts ≥30 min]). Cross-sectional associations with waist circumference, BMI, fasting blood (HbA1c, glucose, triacylglycerols, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and blood pressure of these activity variables (30 min/day increments) were examined adjusted for confounders and wear then, if significant, examined using isotemporal substitution modelling.ResultsWaist circumference and BMI were significantly (p<0.05) associated with more prolonged sedentary time and less light-intensity activity. Light intensity activity was also significantly associated with lower fasting plasma glucose (relative rate: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97, 1.00; p<0.05). No biomarker was significantly associated with non-prolonged sedentary time or MVPA. Lower mean prolonged sedentary time (−30 min/day) with higher mean light intensity time (+30 min/day) was significantly associated with lower waist circumference (β = −0.77, 95% CI: −1.33, −0.22 cm). Lower mean prolonged sedentary time (−30 min/day) with either 30 min/day higher mean non-prolonged sedentary time (β = −0.35, 95%CI: −0.70, −0.01 kg/m2) or light-intensity time (β = −0.36, −0.61, −0.11 kg/m2) was associated with significantly lower average BMI.ConclusionsSignificantly improved mean levels of waist circumference and BMI were observed when shifting time from prolonged sedentary to non-prolonged sedentary or light-intensity activity (cross-sectionally). Lifestyle interventions in overweight/obese adults with type 2 diabetes might consider targeting shifts in these non-MVPA activities to more rigorously evaluate their potential cardiometabolic benefit in this population.

BackgroundThe office workplace is a key setting in which to address excessive sitting time and inadequate physical activity. One major influence on workplace sitting is the organizational environment. However, the impact of organizational-level strategies on individual level activity change is unknown. Further, the emergence of sophisticated, consumer-targeted wearable activity trackers that facilitate real-time self-monitoring of activity, may be a useful adjunct to support organizational-level strategies, but to date have received little evaluation in this workplace setting.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of organizational-level strategies with or without an activity tracker on sitting, standing, and stepping in office workers in the short (3 months, primary aim) and long-term (12 months, secondary aim).MethodsThis study is a pilot, cluster-randomized trial (with work teams as the unit of clustering) of two interventions in office workers: organizational-level support strategies (eg, visible management support, emails) or organizational-level strategies plus the use of a waist-worn activity tracker (the LUMOback) that enables self-monitoring of sitting, standing, and stepping time and enables users to set sitting and posture alerts. The key intervention message is to ‘Stand Up, Sit Less, and Move More.’ Intervention elements will be implemented from within the organization by the Head of Workplace Wellbeing. Participants will be recruited via email and enrolled face-to-face. Assessments will occur at baseline, 3, and 12 months. Time spent sitting, sitting in prolonged (≥30 minute) bouts, standing, and stepping during work hours and across the day will be measured with activPAL3 activity monitors (7 days, 24 hours/day protocol), with total sitting time and sitting time during work hours the primary outcomes. Web-based questionnaires, LUMOback recorded data, telephone interviews, and focus groups will measure the feasibility and acceptability of both interventions and potential predictors of behavior change.ResultsBaseline and follow-up data collection has finished. Results are expected in 2016.ConclusionsThis pilot, cluster-randomized trial will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of two interventions targeting reductions in sitting and increases in standing and stepping in office workers. Few studies have evaluated these intervention strategies and this study has the potential to contribute both short and long-term findings.