Sedentary Behavior of White Collar Office Workers-Review.

Abstract

Aim The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the physical activity time (PAT) of white collar office workers in order to assess the levels of sedentary activity in an office environment. Analysing the office workers PAT will not only allow an insight into how an office based job could impact a person’s overall health and wellness status, but will also allow for the development of future office based inter ventions aimed at increasing the overall physical activity among white collar office workers. Methodology Using the PRISMA 2009 guidelines a literature review was conducted to assess the PAT of office workers and the typical sedentary nature of their work could affect their health. The review consisted of 8 peer reviewed studies, collected through the entry of 9 initial search terms relating to the physical activity, sedentariness and overall health of white collar workers into Discovery, PubMed and Google Scholar search engines. Results Results suggesting low physical activity time spent among white collar office workers with the average minutes spent sedentary on a working day mean(±SD), (529±75.3), minutes in light activity, (164.9±51.1) and vigorous activity time, (28.2±15.9). Low levels of physical activity were also found during non working days with the average sedentary time being mean (±SD), (460.1±63.2), minutes in light physical activity, (251.2±102.1), and moderate to vigorous physical activity time (MVPA) time, (17.9±29.3). Conclusion White collar office workers are spending greater amounts of work time in sedentary behavior. Value This paper provides a current literature review and analysis of the physical activity levels among office workers and sedentary behavior at work which could effects office workers health and well being. Keywords: sedentariness; Physical activity levels; Office workers and white collar workers