Jump to comment:

• Reducing sitting time in the workplace
  Khawer Ayoub
  Published on: 11 October 2022

• Published on: 11 October 2022

  Reducing sitting time in the workplace

  • Khawer Ayoub, ST2 in general practice
  • Other Contributors:
    • Mohammed A Rashid

  Chau and colleagues(1) add further insights to the discussion about sitting time and health risks. As they discuss, a possible explanation for the weaker associations with occupational sitting demonstrated in their study may be the relatively short follow-up time compared to other studies. Indeed, epidemiological associations between occupational physical activity and heart disease go as far back as the 1950s, when it wa...

  Show More

  Chau and colleagues(1) add further insights to the discussion about sitting time and health risks. As they discuss, a possible explanation for the weaker associations with occupational sitting demonstrated in their study may be the relatively short follow-up time compared to other studies. Indeed, epidemiological associations between occupational physical activity and heart disease go as far back as the 1950s, when it was noted that coronary artery disease was more common in bus drivers than bus conductors and in office workers than postmen (2). A recent systematic review found that although some associations have been demonstrated between occupational sitting and diseases as diverse as diabetes and cancer, the heterogeneity of studies meant a causal relationship was difficult to establish (3).

  Clearly, the last half a century has seen a drastic increase in the number of office-based jobs across the world. In light of the suggestions that prolonged sitting may be particularly harmful, perhaps it is time for policy makers to create innovative solutions to tackle this. The evidence base examining the effectiveness of interventions to reduce sitting in the workplace remains limited (4). Conducting meetings whilst standing, hourly group office exercises and planned lunch-break walking may all have a role. Given the public health importance of sitting, it may be time to get creative in the workplace to get people out of their seats.

  The study also reaffirms the role of active health promotion for 21st century clinicians. Sadly, time constraints on busy clinicians in modern healthcare settings mean that there may be limited opportunity to offer this advice. As we increasingly appreciate the potential benefits of adopting primary prevention strategies, the enduring challenge is to engage and empower trainee doctors to bring health promotion to the consultation room and remind them that they can make significant impact as 'preventers' as well as 'curers'.

  1. Chau JY, Grunseit A, Midthjell K, Holmen J, Holmen TL, Bauman AE et al. Sedentary behaviour and risk of mortality from all-causes and cardiometabolic diseases in adults: evidence from the HUNT3 population cohort. Br J Sports Med. 2013 May 10. [Epub ahead of print] 2. Morris JN, Crawford MD. Coronary Heart Disease and Physical Activity of Work. BMJ. 1958; 2(5111): 1485-1496. 3. van Uffelen JG, Wong J, Chau JY, van der Ploeg HP, Riphagen I, Gilson ND et al. Occupational sitting and health risks: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2010; 39(4):379-88. 4. Chau JY, der Ploeg HP, van Uffelen JG, Wong J, Riphagen I, Healy GN et al. Are workplace interventions to reduce sitting effective? A systematic review. Prev Med. 2010; 51(5):352-6.

  Conflict of Interest:

  None declared

  Show Less

  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

  • Back to top