Workplace neighbourhood built environment and workers’ physically-active and sedentary behaviour: a systematic review of observational studies

Abstract

Background Many desk-based workers can spend more than half of their working hours sitting, with low levels of physical activity. Workplace neighbourhood built environment may influence workers’ physical activities and sedentary behaviours on workdays. We reviewed and synthesised evidence from observational studies on associations of workplace neighbourhood attributes with domain-specific physical activity and sedentary behaviour and suggested research priorities for improving the quality of future relevant studies. Methods Published studies were obtained from nine databases (PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, Transport Research International Documentation, MEDLINE, Cochrane, Embase, and CINAHL) and crosschecked by Google Scholar. Observational studies with quantitative analyses estimating associations between workplace neighbourhood built environment attributes and workers’ physical activity or sedentary behaviour were included. Studies were restricted to those published in English language peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2019. Results A total of 55 studies and 455 instances of estimated associations were included. Most instances of potential associations of workplace neighbourhood built environment attributes with total or domain-specific (occupational, transport, and recreational) physical activity were non-significant. However, destination-related attributes (i.e., longer distances from workplace to home and access to car parking) were positively associated with transport-related sedentary behaviour (i.e., car driving). Conclusions The findings reinforce the case for urban design policies on designing mixed-use neighbourhoods where there are opportunities to live closer to workplaces and have access to a higher density of shops, services, and recreational facilities. Studies strengthening correspondence between the neighbourhood built environment attributes and behaviours are needed to identify and clarify potential relationships. Protocol registration The protocol of this systematic review was registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on 2 December 2019 (registration number: CRD42019137341).

Physiological Changes, Activity, and Stress During a 100-km–24-h Walking-March

“…Thus, such long-duration events could not be recommended for the general population to improve cardiovascular fitness. Nevertheless, in the light of increasing prevalence of metabolic diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle ( Arocha Rodulfo, 2019 ), which can be construed to be a negative environmental factor on the health of a large proportion of the population in western societies ( Lin et al, 2020 ), the results of our study might help to bring about health benefits by changing the lifestyle from a sedentary to a more active one (e.g., walking instead of driving, using the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.). Since our data suggest that even exercise at low intensities such as walking can have the reported positive benefits, our study supports several recommendations already incorporated in general guidelines ( Anton et al, 2011 ) and could further help clinicians apply lifestyle changes for the health benefits of their patients.…”

“…In addition, the number of persons living a sedentary lifestyle is increasing ( Arocha Rodulfo, 2019 ), leading to numerous adverse health effects like obesity and metabolic disorders ( Mayer-Davis and Costacou, 2001 ) where this western sedentary lifestyle could be construed as an adverse environmental factor ( Wachira et al, 2018 ; Koohsari et al, 2020 ; Lin et al, 2020 ).…”

Los entornos saludables y la calidad de vida. Estudio “Healthy Cities”

“…De forma general los resultados presentan valores que pueden ser predictores de riesgos potenciales para la calidad de vida de la población examinada (Esfahani et al, 2017;Kim et al, 2020;Lin et al, 2020).…”

Lack of Pregraduate Teaching on the Associations between the Built Environment, Physical Activity and Health in Swiss Architecture and Urban Design Degree Programs

“…Other courses indicating a mention of the importance of BE on health in general tended to focus on health parameters like ergonomic furniture, air quality or chemicals, but not PA. According to Klepeis et al [32], most people in the USA spend 90% of their time inside and depend a lot on the way their indoor environment is designed [33]. In Switzerland this may be somewhat less, but the point remains that peoples' PA behavior is influenced both outside and inside by the BE.…”

“…The relationships between the BE, PA and health, especially inside buildings, are not yet fully understood [33,36]. Nevertheless, the potential to improve the conditions for a healthy life and to increase health by planning movement-friendly environments is large globally [31] as well as in Switzerland [30].…”