INTERVENTION TO REDUCE SEDENTARY TIME AND IMPROVE CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS AMONG SEDENTARY EMPLOYEES

Abstract

Background: More than half of the US adult population is sedentary and this type of behavior is known to increase an individual's risk for overweight/obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, anxiety, and depression. Few interventions have been conducted with the purpose of reducing sedentary time to improve cardiometabolic risk factors. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the worksite intervention program Pedal@Work in reducing daily sedentary time and improving risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. Methods: Forty sedentary, overweight/obese adults (21-65 years) working a minimum of 35 hours per week were recruited to participate in a 12 week intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention (N=23; 42.6 years; 86.9% females) or wait-list control (N=17; 47.6 years; 94.1% females) group. Sedentary time was measured objectively over seven days with a StepWatch activity monitor. Cardiometabolic risk factor measures included resting heart rate, blood pressure, height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, percent body fat, estimated cardiorespiratory fitness, and fasting blood lipids. All measures were collected at baseline and 12 weeks. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test group and time differences in cardiometabolic risk factors. Results: The intervention group significantly reduced daily minutes of sedentary time (P<0.01) and percent daily time spent sedentary (P=0.03) compared to the control group from baseline to 12 weeks. The intervention group also significantly increased percent daily time spent in moderate intensity activity (P=0.04) compared to the control group. There was a significant group x time interaction for waist circumference (P=0.03). No changes were observed for any other cardiometabolic risk factors. Conclusion: The results from this study suggest the intervention group significantly reduced their sedentary time and improved their waist circumference compared to baseline and compared to their control counterparts. These findings are important considering the increasing number of sedentary occupations and the rising prevalence of obesity in the U.S.