Workplace interventions for reducing sitting at work.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Public Health
• Ergonomics

Background:

• Modern office work is increasingly sedentary, contributing to health issues like cardiovascular disease, obesity, and mortality.
• Prolonged sitting in the workplace is a significant public health concern.
• Understanding effective interventions to reduce workplace sitting is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of workplace interventions aimed at reducing sitting time.
• To compare interventions against no intervention or alternative strategies.
• To assess impacts on sitting duration, energy expenditure, work productivity, and adverse events.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cluster-RCTs, and controlled before-and-after studies (CBAs).
• Searched multiple databases including CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to June 2015.
• Primary outcome: daily sitting time at work (self-reported or objectively measured); secondary outcomes included energy expenditure, sitting episode duration, work productivity, and adverse events.

Main Results:

• Sit-stand desks reduced daily sitting time by 30 minutes to two hours in the short-to-medium term (very low to low quality evidence).
• Other interventions like policy changes, information, and counselling showed inconsistent or no considerable effects on reducing sitting time.
• Active workstations (treadmill/pedalling desks) had inconsistent effects; no studies investigated periodic breaks or standing/walking meetings.

Conclusions:

• Sit-stand desks show potential for reducing workplace sitting in the short-to-medium term without adverse effects.
• Evidence for the long-term effects of sit-stand desks and the effectiveness of other interventions remains limited.
• Further high-quality, long-term cluster-randomized trials are needed to confirm intervention effectiveness.