Changes in Physical Activity Behaviour and Health Risk Factors Following a Randomised Controlled Pilot Workplace Exercise Intervention

Naomi Burn; Lynda Heather Norton; Claire Drummond; Kevin Ian Norton; Naomi Burn; Lynda Heather Norton; Claire Drummond; Kevin Ian Norton

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2017.2.189

AIMS Public Health

2017, Volume 4, Issue 2: 189-201. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2017.2.189

Previous Article Next Article

Research article Special Issues

Changes in Physical Activity Behaviour and Health Risk Factors Following a Randomised Controlled Pilot Workplace Exercise Intervention

1.
Health and Social Care Institute, Teesside University, Middlesbrough Tees Valley, TS1 3BX, UK
2.
School of Health and Exercise Science, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001
3.
School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001

Received: 01 February 2017 Accepted: 08 May 2017 Published: 10 May 2017

Background: Declining physical activity (PA) and associated health risk factors are well established. Workplace strategies to increase PA may be beneficial to ameliorate extensive sedentary behavior. This study assessed the effectiveness of two PA interventions in workplace settings. Methods: Interventions were conducted over 40 days targeting insufficiently active (<150 min/wk PA) and/or obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) adults; participants were randomly allocated to instructor-led exercise sessions either after-work (n = 25) or in-work (n = 23) with a 60 minPA/day common goal, or a wait-listed control group (n = 23). The programme commenced with low-moderate physical activities and progressed to high intensity game style activities by week six. Adherence and compliance were determined using both objective measures of daily PA time from HR monitors and self-report responses to PA questionnaires. Cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors were measured pre- and post-intervention. Changes across the study were analysed using Chi square and repeat-measures ANOVA. Results: Adherence rates (completed pre and post-testing) were not different between groups (76.0 vs 65.2%). Compliance for the instructor-led sessions was higher for the after-work group (70.4% vs 26.4%, respectively). Increased total PA and aerobic fitness, and decreased weight in both intervention groups were found relative to controls. The after-work group undertook more vigorous PA, and had greater weight loss and fasting blood glucose improvement, relative to in-work participants and controls. Conclusions: These workplace interventions resulted in rapid and dramatic increases in PA behaviour and important health benefits. Short, in-work PA sessions were less efficacious than longer after-work sessions.
- workplace interventions,
- physical activity,
- health outcomes
Citation: Naomi Burn, Lynda Heather Norton, Claire Drummond, Kevin Ian Norton. Changes in Physical Activity Behaviour and Health Risk Factors Following a Randomised Controlled Pilot Workplace Exercise Intervention[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2017, 4(2): 189-201. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2017.2.189

Related Papers:

Abstract

Background: Declining physical activity (PA) and associated health risk factors are well established. Workplace strategies to increase PA may be beneficial to ameliorate extensive sedentary behavior. This study assessed the effectiveness of two PA interventions in workplace settings. Methods: Interventions were conducted over 40 days targeting insufficiently active (<150 min/wk PA) and/or obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) adults; participants were randomly allocated to instructor-led exercise sessions either after-work (n = 25) or in-work (n = 23) with a 60 minPA/day common goal, or a wait-listed control group (n = 23). The programme commenced with low-moderate physical activities and progressed to high intensity game style activities by week six. Adherence and compliance were determined using both objective measures of daily PA time from HR monitors and self-report responses to PA questionnaires. Cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors were measured pre- and post-intervention. Changes across the study were analysed using Chi square and repeat-measures ANOVA. Results: Adherence rates (completed pre and post-testing) were not different between groups (76.0 vs 65.2%). Compliance for the instructor-led sessions was higher for the after-work group (70.4% vs 26.4%, respectively). Increased total PA and aerobic fitness, and decreased weight in both intervention groups were found relative to controls. The after-work group undertook more vigorous PA, and had greater weight loss and fasting blood glucose improvement, relative to in-work participants and controls. Conclusions: These workplace interventions resulted in rapid and dramatic increases in PA behaviour and important health benefits. Short, in-work PA sessions were less efficacious than longer after-work sessions.

References

[1]	World Health Organization (WHO). Global Health Risks:Mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks. Geneva, WHO; 2009.
[2]	Brown WJ, Miller YD, Miller R (2003) Sitting time and work patterns as indicators of overweight and obesity in Australian adults. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 27: 1340-1346. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0802426
[3]	Miller R, Brown WJ (2004) Steps and Sitting in a Working Population. Int J Behav Med 11: 219-224.
[4]	Department of Health. Australia's Physical Activity & Sedentary Guidelines for Adults (18–64 years). 2014. Available from: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines#apaadult.
[5]	Laddu D, Dow C, Hingle M, et al. (2011) A Review of evidence-based strategies to treat obesity in adults. Nutr Clin Prac 26: 512-525. doi: 10.1177/0884533611418335
[6]	Engbers LH, van Poppel MNM, Paw M, et al. (2005) Worksite health promotion programmes with environmental changes - a systematic review. Am J Prev Med 29: 61-70. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2005.03.001
[7]	Verweij LM, Coffeng J, van Mechelen W, et al. (2011) Meta-analyses of workplace physical activity and dietary behaviour interventions on weight outcomes. Obes Rev 12: 406-429. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00765.x
[8]	Kahn E, Ramsey L, Brownson R, et al. (2002) The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med 22: 73-107.
[9]	Foster C, Hillsdon M, Thorogood M, et al. (2005) Interventions for promoting physical activity. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Issue 1. Art. No.: CD003180. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003180.pub2.
[10]	Dugdill L, Brettle A, Hulme C, et al. (2008) Workplace physical activity interventions: a systematic review. Int J Workplace Health Manag 1: 20-40. doi: 10.1108/17538350810865578
[11]	King AC, Stokols D, Talin E, et al. (2002) Theoretical approaches to the promotion of physical activity. Forging a transdisciplinary paradigm. Am J Prev Med 23: 15-25.
[12]	Norton L, Norton KI, Lewis N, et al. (2011) A comparison of two short-term intensive physical activity interventions: methodological considerations. Int J Behav Nutr Phy 8: 133. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-133
[13]	Norton LH, Norton KI, Lewis NR (2015) Adherence, compliance and health risk factor changes following short-term physical activity interventions. Biomed Res Int 1-9.
[14]	Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The Active Australia Survey: a guide and manual for implementation, analysis and reporting. Canberra: AIHW; 2003.
[15]	Sports Medicine Australia (SMA). Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) Pre-Exercise Screening System, 2005. Avaliable from: http://sma.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/new_pre_screening.pdf.
[16]	Department of the Arts, Sport, the Environment and Territories [DASET]: Pilot Survey of the Fitness of Australians. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service; 1992.
[17]	National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Australian Dietary Guidelines, 2013. Available from: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/n55.
[18]	Norton KI and Olds TS (Eds.) (2000) Anthropometrica. Sydney: UNSW Press.
[19]	Shephard MDS, Mazzachi BC, Shephard AK (2007) Comparative performance of two point-of-care analysers for lipid testing. Clin Lab 53: 561-566.
[20]	Murtagh EM, Boreham CAG, Nevill A, et al. (2005) The effects of 60 minutes of brisk walking per week, accumulated in two different patterns, on cardiovascular risk. Prev Med 41: 92-97. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.10.008
[21]	Bellew B. Primary prevention of chronic disease in Australia through interventions in the workplace setting: a rapid review. Available from: https://www.saxinstitute.org.au/publications/evidence-check-review-prevention-of-chronic-disease-in-the-workplace/.
[22]	Katz DL, O'Connell M, Ming-Chin Y, et al. (2005) Public health strategies for preventing and controlling overweight and obesity in school and worksite settings: a report on recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. MMWR Recomm Rep 54: 1-12.
[23]	Slentz CA, Duscha BD, Johnson JL, et al. (2004) Effects of the amount of exercise on body weight, body composition, and measures of central obesity: STRRIDE-a randomized controlled study. Arch Intern Med 164: 31-39. doi: 10.1001/archinte.164.1.31
[24]	O'Donovan G, Owen A, Bird SR, et al. (2005) Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and coronary heart disease risk factors following 24 wk of moderate- or high-intensity exercise of equal energy cost. J Appl Physiol 98: 1619-1625. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01310.2004
[25]	Warburton DER, Nicol CW, Bredin SSD (2006) Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. CMAJ 174:801-809.
[26]	Church TS, Earnest CP, Skinner JS, et al. (2007) Effects of different doses of physical activity on cardiorespiratory fitness among sedentary, overweight or obese post-menopausal women with elevated blood pressure. JAMA 297: 2081-2091. doi: 10.1001/jama.297.19.2081
[27]	Malik SH, Blake H, Suggs LS (2014) A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity. Br J Health Psychol 19: 149-180.
[28]	World Health Organization. Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2004. Available from: http://who.int/dietphysicalactivity/en/.
[29]	Marshall SJ and Ramirez E (2011) Reducing sedentary behavior: a new paradigm for physical activity promotion. Am J Lifestyle Med 5: 518-530. doi: 10.1177/1559827610395487

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2017 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)