Research project What does the distribution of time spent in physical activity and sedentary behaviour look like during work and leisure time within different occupational categories and what are the effects on different health outcomes? This is some of the research questions that we are investigating in this project.
This project aims to increase the knowledge about how physical activity and sedentary behaviour performed in different environments and contexts affect our health. By analysing data collected with thigh-worn accelerometers within the “Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study” (SCAPIS), we will investigate physical activity and sedentary behaviour during work and leisure time within different occupational categories. Further, we will investigate the effect of these behaviours on e.g. body measurements, memory, self-rated quality of life, and glucose regulation.
Pasan Hettiarachchi, PhD, Research Engineer, Uppsala University
Peter Johansson, PhD, Physiotherapist, Specialist within ergonomics, Uppsala University
Magnus Svartengren, MD, PhD, Professor, Uppsala University
There is a good evidence base today supporting that physical activity reduces the risk of many of our main non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes type 2. Physical activity is also an important part in the treatment of many of these conditions. The largest part of the previous research within this field has, however, mainly focused on physical activity that is performed during leisure time. How physical activity at work affects our health is not as well studied. Further, how putative associations are affected by sedentary behaviour has not been established. More research is thus needed within this field, using reliable methods to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviour at work and leisure.
In this project, we work with thigh accelerometer data collected in SCAPIS, a population based cross-sectional study that was performed between 2013-2018 at six different sites in Sweden, including Umeå. In Umeå, the participants wore the thigh accelerometer activPAL for 24 hours a day for seven days to measure sedentary behaviour and physical activity. By analysing data from the accelerometer, we will investigate how physical activity and sedentary behaviour is distributed during work and leisure time in different occupational categories. Further, associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviour during work and leisure time and different health outcomes, including body measurements, memory, glucose regulation, and self-rated quality of life, and whether these associations are affected by sex and age, will be studied.
About 90% of the participants in SCAPIS have at least one previous measurement in the “Västerbotten Intervention project” (VIP). By working with data from both SCAPIS and VIP, we have the possibility to do longitudinal analyses to further study associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviour, glucose regulation, and memory.
