Sedentary Behavior Affects the Ratings of Workplace Physical Activity Sessions

It is not known how individuals with various levels of sedentary behavior rate their experiences with physical activity. The absence of these data diminishes the ability to tailor programs and interventions for those with different sedentary behavior patterns. We hypothesize that those who engage in greater levels of sedentary behavior will rate their experiences of workplace physical activity sessions less favorably than those who engage in lower levels of sedentary behavior. The study was a within subject, repeated-measures design. Sixty participants completed six distinct workplace physical activity sessions (i.e., 360 data points) and rated each session immediately after with self-report measures of social cognitive constructs (e.g., benefit, confidence, enjoyment, and likability). Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the data. Those who sat more than 6 hours/day on non-workdays rated sessions more favorably on enjoyment and likability constructs, but less favorably on confidence. Those who sat 10 hours/day on workdays rated physical activity sessions less favorably on the constructs of enjoyment and likability. Furthermore, sedentary behaviors had no effect on ratings of perceived benefits. Interventions designed to promote physical activity should assess sedentary behavior patterns (both workday and non-workday) and evaluate the effects on social cognitive perceptions of physical activity.