Can Building Design Impact Physical Activity? A Natural Experiment

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Behavioral Science
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Workplace design influences physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior.
• Understanding the impact of new building environments on employee PA is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate changes in physical activity (PA) among university employees before and after relocating to a new building.
• To compare PA levels between employees moving to a new building (MOVERS) and those remaining in existing facilities (NONMOVERS), plus a control group.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post, experimental versus control group study design was employed.
• Physical activity data were collected using self-report surveys and accelerometers.
• Objective PA data from accelerometers compared MOVERS, NONMOVERS, and CONTROLS.

Main Results:

• Self-reported PA increased for both MOVERS and NONMOVERS.
• All groups showed significant increases in objectively measured daily energy expenditure and steps per day.
• The control group exhibited the largest increase in steps per day (29.8%), with no significant pre- to post-test differences between groups.

Conclusions:

• The observed increase in PA across all groups cannot be solely attributed to the new building.
• Potential confounding factors include proximity bias and a university-wide PA tracking contest.
• Findings can inform future research on workplace design strategies to promote physical activity.