Sedentary Time and Physical Activity Surveillance Through Accelerometer Pooling in Four European Countries

Abstract

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to pool, harmonise and re-analyse national accelerometer data from adults in four European countries in order to describe population levels of sedentary time and physical inactivity.MethodsFive cross-sectional studies were included from England, Portugal, Norway and Sweden. ActiGraph accelerometer count data were centrally processed using the same algorithms. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to study the associations of sedentary time and physical inactivity with sex, age, weight status and educational level, in both the pooled sample and the separate study samples.ResultsData from 9509 participants were used. On average, participants were sedentary for 530 min/day, and accumulated 36 min/day of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. Twenty-three percent accumulated more than 10 h of sedentary time/day, and 72% did not meet the physical activity recommendations. Nine percent of all participants were classified as high sedentary and low active. Participants from Norway showed the highest levels of sedentary time, while participants from England were the least physically active. Age and weight status were positively associated with sedentary time and not meeting the physical activity recommendations. Men and higher-educated people were more likely to be highly sedentary, while women and lower-educated people were more likely to be inactive.ConclusionsWe found high levels of sedentary time and physical inactivity in four European countries. Older people and obese people were most likely to display these behaviours and thus deserve special attention in interventions and policy planning. In order to monitor these behaviours, accelerometer-based cross-European surveillance is recommended.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0658-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

eMouveRecherche: the first scientific application to promote light-intensity activity for the prevention of chronic diseases

“…In the present study, the time spent in moderate-and vigorousintensity activities was similar between the two weight statuses (4.9% vs. 3.6%, 0.4% vs. 0.005%) and close to those observed by [20]. Surprisingly, the mean time spent in moderate-intensity activities was close to the 30 minutes recommended by international physical activity guidelines, regardless of the participant's BMI.…”

“…The sedentary behaviors of normal weight subjects were assessed in the same proportion (approximately 60-65%) by eMouveRecherche and ActiGraph. The time percentage spent in lightintensity activity by normal weight participants was situated midway between the percentages indicated by [18,20]. By contrast, these values were far from those concerning the time percentages of the overweight/ obese participants.…”

“…Like the smartphone, ActiGraph uses accelerometry data to assess time spent in different activity categories. [20] used ActiGraph to study physical activity and sedentary behaviors of European participants and found that obese people had a significantly higher odds ratio of sitting more than 10 hours per day than normal weight people. However, regardless of their BMI (< 25, 25 -30, > 30 kg.m -2 ), the participants spent about 60-62% of their time in sedentary behavior, 34-35% in light activity, 3-4% in moderate-intensity activities and 0.08-0.4% in vigorous-intensity activities (Electronic Supplementary Material Table S1).…”

Sedentary behaviour, physical activity, and sarcopenia among older adults in the TSHA: isotemporal substitution model

“…The use of accelerometers has allowed the objective daily living‐related PA estimation through motions derived from ambulation. Studies that aimed to improve the insight into the preventive role of objectively measured PA and health‐related conditions at older ages have applied thresholds validated in healthy young adults for PA intensity categorization . This could have led to inaccuracy and misclassification of actual PA behaviours, generating an overestimation of SB and underestimation of actual PA, due to differences in energy cost of a given activity in older adults, when compared with younger cohorts .…”

Are fitness club members likely to meet the current physical activity recommendations?

“…Further, it recommended weekly participation in muscle‐strengthening activities on two or more days . Data from device‐measured PA demonstrate that only about 19%‐33% of the European adult population comply with the PA recommendations …”