Total and domain‐specific sitting time among employees in desk‐based work settings in Australia

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To describe the total and domain‐specific daily sitting time among a sample of Australian office‐based employees. Methods: In April 2010, paper‐based surveys were provided to desk‐based employees (n=801) in Victoria, Australia. Total daily and domain‐specific (work, leisure‐time and transport‐related) sitting time (minutes/day) were assessed by validated questionnaires. Differences in sitting time were examined across socio‐demographic (age, sex, occupational status) and lifestyle characteristics (physical activity levels, body mass index [BMI]) using multiple linear regression analyses. Results: The median (95% confidence interval [CI]) of total daily sitting time was 540 (531–557) minutes/day. Insufficiently active adults (median=578 minutes/day, [95%CI: 564–602]), younger adults aged 18–29 years (median=561 minutes/day, [95%CI: 540–577]) reported the highest total daily sitting times. Occupational sitting time accounted for almost 60% of total daily sitting time. In multivariate analyses, total daily sitting time was negatively associated with age (unstandardised regression coefficient [B]=−1.58, p<0.001) and overall physical activity (minutes/week) (B=−0.03, p<0.001) and positively associated with BMI (B=1.53, p=0.038). Conclusions: Desk‐based employees reported that more than half of their total daily sitting time was accrued in the work setting. Implications: Given the high contribution of occupational sitting to total daily sitting time among desk‐based employees, interventions should focus on the work setting.

Keywords

• sitting
• physical activity
• epidemiology
• employees
• workplaces