BackgroundThe current Australia's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines recommend that adults engage in regular moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and strength training (ST), and minimise time spent in sedentary behaviours (SB). However, evidence about the specific individual and concurrent distribution of these behaviours in Australia is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of MVPA, ST and SB in a national-representative sample of Australian adults.MethodsData were collected using face-to-face interviews, as part of the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011–12. The population-weighted proportions meeting the MVPA (≥150 min/week), ST (≥2 sessions/week) and combined MVPA-ST guidelines, and proportions classified as having ‘low levels of SB’ (<480 min/day) were calculated, and their associations with selected sociodemographic and health-related variables were assessed using multiple logistic regression analyses. This was also done for those at potentially ‘high-risk’, defined as insufficient MVPA-ST and ‘high-sedentary’ behaviour.ResultsOut of 9345 participants (response rate = 77.0 %), aged 18–85 years, 52.6 % (95 % CI: 51.2 %–54.0 %), 18.6 % (95 % CI: 17.5 %–19.7 %) and 15.0 % (95 % CI: 13.9 %–16.1 %) met the MVPA, ST and combined MVPA-ST guidelines, respectively. Female gender, older age, low/medium education, poorer self-rated health, being classified as underweight or obese, and being a current smoker were independently associated with lower odds of meeting the MVPA, ST and combined MVPA-ST guidelines. A total of 78.9 % (95 % CI: 77.9 %–80.0 %) were classified as having low levels of SB. Females, older adults and those with lower education were more likely to report lower levels of SB, whilst those with poor self-rated health and obese individuals were less likely to report lower levels of SB (i.e. SB = ≥480 min/day). A total of 8.9 % (95 % CI: 8.1 %–9.6 %) were categorised as individuals at potentially ‘high-risk’. Those with poorer self-rated health, obese individuals, those aged 25–44, and current smokers were more likely to be in the ‘high risk’ group.ConclusionsThe large majority of Australian adults do not meet the full physical activity guidelines and/or report excessive SB. Our results call for public health interventions to reduce physical inactivity and SB in Australia, particularly among the subgroups at the highest risk of these unhealthy behaviours.

Background The World Health Organization’s ‘Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health’ state that adults should engage in regular moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity (MVPA; e.g. walking, running, cycling) and muscle-strengthening activity (MSA; e.g. strength/resistance training). However, assessment of both MVPA and MSA is rare in physical activity surveillance. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence, correlates and chronic health conditions associated with meeting the combined MVPA-MSA guidelines among a population representative sample of U.S. adults. Methods In this cross-sectional study, data were drawn from the U.S. 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. During telephone interviews, MVPA and MSA were assessed using validated questionnaires. We calculated the proportions meeting both the global MVPA and MSA physical activity guidelines (MVPA ≥150 min/week and MSA ≥2 sessions/week). Poisson regressions with a robust error variance were used to assess: (i) prevalence ratios (PR) for meeting both guidelines across sociodemographic factors (e.g. age, sex, education, income, race/ethnicity); and (ii) PRs of 12 common chronic health conditions (e.g. diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, depression) across different categories of physical activity guideline adherence (met neither [reference]; MSA only; MVPA only; met both). Results Among 383,928 adults (aged 18–80 years), 23.5% (95% CI: 20.1, 20.6%) met the combined MVPA-MSA guidelines. Those with poorer self-rated health, older adults, women, lower education/income and current smokers were less likely to meet the combined guidelines. After adjustment for covariates (e.g. age, self-rated health, income, smoking) compared with meeting neither guidelines, MSA only and MVPA only, meeting the combined MVPA-MSA guidelines was associated with the lowest PRs for all health conditions (APR range: 0.44–0.76), and the clustering of ≥6 chronic health conditions (APR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.31–0.35). Conclusions Eight out of ten U.S. adults do not meet the global physical activity guidelines. This study supports the need for comprehensive health promotion strategies to increase the uptake and adherence of MVPA-MSA among U.S. adults. Large-scale interventions should target specific population sub-groups including older adults, women, those with poorer health and lower education/income. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12966-019-0797-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundProlonged sitting is an emerging health risk. However, multi-country comparative sitting data are sparse. This paper reports the prevalence and correlates of sitting time in 32 European countries.MethodsData from the Eurobarometer 64.3 study were used, which included nationally representative samples (n = 304-1,102) from 32 European countries. Face-to-face interviews were conducted during November and December 2005. Usual weekday sitting time was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short-version). Sitting time was compared by country, age, gender, years of education, general health status, usual activity and physical activity. Multivariable-adjusted analyses assessed the odds of belonging to the highest sitting quartile.ResultsData were available for 27,637 adults aged 15–98 years. Overall, mean reported weekday sitting time was 309 min/day (SD 184 min/day). There was a broad geographical pattern and some of the lowest amounts of daily sitting were reported in southern (Malta and Portugal means 194–236 min/day) and eastern (Romania and Hungary means 191–276 min/day) European countries; and some of the highest amounts of daily sitting were reported in northern European countries (Germany, Benelux and Scandinavian countries; means 407–335 min/day). Multivariable-adjusted analyses showed adults with low physical activity levels (OR = 5.10, CI95 = 4.60-5.66), those with high sitting in their main daily activity (OR = 2.99, CI95 = 2.74-3.25), those with a bad/very bad general health state (OR = 1.87, CI95 = 1.63-2.15) and higher education levels (OR = 1.48, CI95 = 1.38-1.59) were more likely to be in the highest quartile of daily sitting time. Adults within Greece (OR = 2.91, CI95 = 2.51-3.36) and Netherlands (OR = 2.56, CI95 = 2.22-2.94) were most likely to be in the highest quartile. High-sit/low-active participants comprised 10.1% of the sample. Adults self-reporting bad/very bad general health state (OR = 4.74, CI95 = 3.97-5.65), those within high sitting in their main daily activities (OR = 2.87, CI95 = 2.52-3.26) and adults aged ≥65 years (OR = 1.53, CI95 = 1.19-1.96) and were more likely to be in the high-sit/low-active group.ConclusionsWeekday sitting time and its demographic correlates varied considerably across European countries, with adults in north-western European countries sitting the most. Sitting is prevalent across Europe and merits attention by preventive interventions.

Public health guidance includes recommendations to engage in strength-promoting exercise (SPE), but there is little evidence on its links with mortality. Using data from the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey from 1994-2008, we examined the associations between SPE (gym-based and own-body-weight strength activities) and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease mortality. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regression was used to examine the associations between SPE (any, low-/high-volume, and adherence to the SPE guideline (≥2 sessions/week)) and mortality. The core sample comprised 80,306 adults aged ≥30 years, corresponding to 5,763 any-cause deaths (736,463 person-years). Following exclusions for prevalent disease/events occurring in the first 24 months, participation in any SPE was favorably associated with all-cause (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69, 0.87) and cancer (HR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.86) mortality. Adhering only to the SPE guideline was associated with all-cause (HR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.66, 0.94) and cancer (HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.92) mortality; adhering only to the aerobic activity guideline (equivalent to 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity activity) was associated with all-cause (HR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.78, 0.90) and cardiovascular disease (HR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.90) mortality. Adherence to both guidelines was associated with all-cause (HR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.87) and cancer (HR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.98) mortality. Our results support promoting adherence to the strength exercise guidelines over and above the generic physical activity targets.

No abstract

Available evidence is generally not supportive of associations between sedentary behaviour and obesity in adults. Most studies that found significant associations indicated mostly small effect sizes. Somewhat more consistent associations were shown for screen time (mainly TV viewing), among older adults, and for pre-adult sedentary behaviour to increase the risk of obesity in adulthood. Some evidence also exists for breaks in sedentary time to be associated with a more favourable BMI, and for use of a car to be associated with greater risk of obesity. There is limited evidence for an association between sedentary behaviour in adulthood and obesity and any association that exists does not seem to be causal. Future research is required investigating potentially positive effects for frequent breaks from sitting, less car use, and an uncoupling of TV viewing and dietary intake.

Accumulating high volumes of sedentary behaviour is a risk factor for multiple negative health-related outcomes. The objective of this review was to synthesise the evidence on the levels of sedentary behaviour in university students. Screened records from 13 databases were included if (i) published after 2007 and (ii) reported on university students' amount of total or domain-specific sedentary behaviour. Sub-group and meta-regression analyses were conducted to investigate potential sources of heterogeneity (moderators). A total of 125 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were cross-sectional (84%) and reported screen time (61%) or total sedentary time (39%). Self-reported data indicated that university students spend 7.29 h per day being sedentary. The levels of total sedentary behaviour were significantly higher when measured with accelerometers (M = 9.82 h per day). Computer use presented significantly higher prevalence over other modalities of screen time. Among the explored factors (i.e. countries' income, age, gender, and study's publication date), only publication date significantly moderated sedentary behaviour. Results suggest that a considerable proportion of university students (i) engage in higher levels of sedentary time compared to the general young adult population and (ii) accumulate levels of sedentary time that have been associated with an increased risk for detrimental health outcomes. In addition, meta-regression analyses suggest that sedentary time has increased over the last 10-year period among university students. These findings may inform future initiatives and policies targeting university students' sedentary behaviour. Further research is needed to identify the factors moderating sedentary behaviour in the university setting.

No abstract