“Our 'sporting nation' image is under threat,” says Medibank Private's Julie Andrews. Image: Istock.

By Angela Dorizas

Australian workers are risking their health through prolonged sitting, according to a landmark study.

The Stand Up Australia study was a collaboration of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Medibank Private and the Cancer Prevention Research Centre at The University of Queensland.

Using accelerometers and self-reporting, Stand Up Australia monitored activity levels of 131 Medibank Private and partner organisation employees in office, call centre and retail environments. The study found that on average 77 per cent of work time was spent sitting.

More broadly, 70 per cent of the entire work day – before, during and after work – was spent sitting. On a non-work day prolonged sitting, or sedentary time, was lower, making up 62 per cent of waking hours.

Individuals who spent high amounts of time sedentary at work also tended to spend high amounts of time sedentary on non-work days.

A break down of results across the different working environments revealed that call centre employees had the highest amount of sedentary time, took fewer breaks and were engaged in less light-intensity activity. However, they spent a greater amount of time in moderate-to-vigorous intensity active than retail and office staff.

Medibank Private executive general manager of health management, Julie Andrews, said overall, office, retail and call-centre employees spend most of their waking hours sitting.

“Regardless of the day or setting, the majority of our time is spent sedentary,” she said.

“Our sporting nation image is under threat.”

Prolonged sitting is considered to be an adverse health risk, linked to Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and premature mortality.

Associate professor David Dunstan, head of physical activity at Baker IDI and a ViHealth research fellow, said physiological studies in the UK have shown that prolonged sitting leads to very little electrical activity.

“Whether this translates to alterations in metabolic activity we’re now starting to investigate,” Dunstan said.

“Animal studies are starting to show that this inactivity caused by sitting actually alters metabolic pathways.”

Sedentary behaviour can also contribute to reduced productivity through absenteeism and presenteeism, particularly among employees with existing chronic disease.

The report recommended that employers:

• include sedentary behaviour in OH&S policies and practices;
• monitor the levels of prolonged sitting among employees, auditting levels of sedentary time in the workplace;
• investigate opportunities for reducing sitting time and implementing new strategies where necessary;
• investigate links between prolonged sitting and productivity, exploring indicators of employee engagement, including absenteeism and presenteeism; and
• raise awareness of the benefits of being active in the workplace.

The Stand Up Australia findings were presented at the recent Health and Productivity Management Congress. Held annually, the conference brings together leaders in health and productivity management to discuss the latest research and initiatives to improve employee health.

Read the full story in the September issue of Government News magazine.

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