Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Clustering: Segmentation to Optimize Active Lifestyles.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Distinguishing health impacts of physical inactivity from sedentary behavior is increasingly important.
• Combined sedentary behavior and physical inactivity present significant public health challenges.
• Identifying populations engaging in both behaviors is a public health priority.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize distinct clusters of physical activity and sedentary behavior.
• To determine the demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with combined sedentary and inactive lifestyles.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a nonprobability sample of 22,836 participants for observational data on daily activity.
• Employed a 2-step hierarchical cluster analysis to identify behavioral groups.
• Conducted univariate analyses to assess significant differences between identified clusters.

Main Results:

• Identified an 'Ambulatory & Active' cluster (n=6254) with moderate sitting (2.5-5h/day) and high activity, characterized by younger age, more males, and lower deprivation.
• Identified a 'Sedentary & Low Active' cluster (n=6286) with high sitting (≥8h/day) and low physical activity (≤60 MET·min/wk), characterized by older age, more females, and moderate deprivation.
• Demonstrated that high levels of sitting cluster with low physical activity.

Conclusions:

• Public health strategies should focus on reducing sedentary time and promoting light-intensity physical activity.
• Interventions targeting sedentary behavior can complement efforts to increase physical activity.
• Understanding cluster characteristics can inform tailored public health policies and interventions.