Sitting for long uninterrupted periods of time can increase risk of heart disease, diabetes and early death, even if you take part in the United Kingdom government guidelines for physical activity of 21/2 hours per week of exercise. Effective interventions to reduce the risk of these diseases are therefore needed. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of regularly breaking up sitting time with light intensity treadmill desk walking among office workers on health markers, sitting time and physical activity. If using a treadmill desk leads to benefits in these disease risk markers then this could be an effective strategy to improve employee health in the workplace. Participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. After baseline activity and health measures, they will take part in the study for 4 weeks. Intervention group: Participants will have a treadmill desk placed in their office or a nearby location and will be asked to walk while working on the treadmill desk continuously for 20 minutes at a self-selected slow pace each hour for a minimum of 6 hours per shift. There will be one treadmill desk between 2-3 people. Control group: Participants will be asked to work as usual at their regular workstation with no changes in their physical activity and dietary habits. Sitting time and physical activity will be measured at baseline and during the last week f the intervention. A range of health and psychological measures will be taken at baseline and post-intervention.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
See intervention arm description
Change in Workplace sitting time
This will be objectively measured using an activpal thigh worn activity monitor
Time frame: Baseline and week 4 of intervention
Change in Workplace stepping
This will be objectively measured using an activpal thigh worn activity monitor
Time frame: Baseline and week 4 of intervention
Change in Daily sitting time
This will be objectively measured using an activpal thigh worn activity monitor
Time frame: Baseline and week 4 of intervention
Change in Daily physical activity
This will be objectively measured using an activpal thigh worn activity monitor
Time frame: Baseline and week 4 of intervention
Change in Sleep quality and quantity
Measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in Mental-wellbeing
Measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. each of the following items is indicated on the following scale: none of the time=1; rarely=2; some of the time=3; often=4; all of the time=5 (5 indicating a better outcome).The total scores are summed. Items: * I've been feeling optimistic about the future * I've been feeling useful * I've been feeling relaxed * I've been feeling interested in other people * I've had energy to spare * I've been dealing with problems well * I've been thinking clearly * I've been feeling good about myself * I've been feeling close to other people * I've been feeling confident * I've been able to make up my own mind about things * I've been feeling loved * I've been interested in new things * I've been feeling cheerful
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in body mass index (kg/m2)
Calculated with measurement of height and weight
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in waist circumference (cm)
Measured with a tape measure at the level of the umbillicus
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in blood pressure (mmHg)
Measured using an automated blood pressure monitoring device
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in blood glucose (mmol/L)
Measured via finger prick method and analysed using the Cholestech analyser
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in triglycerides (mmol/L)
Measured via finger prick method and analysed using the Cholestech analyser
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L)
Measured via finger prick method and analysed using the Cholestech analyser
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in positive and negative affect
Measured using the positive and negative affect scale. Items will be measured on the following scale: very slightly or not at all=1; a little=2; moderately=3; quite a bit=4; extremely=5. The items are: * interested * distressed * excited * upset * strong * guilty * scared * hostile * enthusiastic * proud * irritable * alert * ashamed * inspired * nervous * determined * attentive * jittery * active * afraid The 10 items for POSITIVE (PA) affect are: attentive, interested, alert, excited, enthusiastic, inspired, proud, determined, strong and active. The 10 items for NEGATIVE (NA) affect are: distressed, upset, hostile, irritable, scared, afraid, ashamed, guilty and nervous, jittery. The scores generated will vary along the scale of 10 - 50, with lower scores indicating low (positive or negative) affect and higher scores indicating high (positive or negative) affect.
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in self-efficacy
Measured using the Self-Efficacy Scale questionnaire (Schwarzer and Renner, 2009)
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in job performance
Measured using a single-item 7-point likert scale
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in work engagement
Measured using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale multi-item 7-point likert scale
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in musculoskeletal symptoms
Measured using the Sandardised Nordic Questionnaire
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in presenteeism
Measured using the 8-item Work Limitations Questionnaire
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in quality of life
Measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in perceived stress
Measured using the Cohen Perceived Stress likert scale. 10 items are answered on the following scale that refer to the person's thoughts and feelings over the past month: never=1; almost never=2; sometimes=3; fairly often=4; very often=5 The items are in the past month how often have you: * been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly * felt unable to control the important things in your life * felt nervous or stressed * felt confident about your ability to handle personal problems * felt that things were going your way * found that you could not cope with all the things you had to do * been able to control irritations in your life * that you were on top of things * been angry because of things that happened that were outside of your control * felt that difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them Positively worded items are reverse scored and the ratings are summed, with higher scores indicating more perceived stress.
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
Change in perceived vigor
Measured using a 12 item likert scale. The scale is: never of almost never=1; very infrequently=2; quite infrequently=3; sometimes=4; quite frequently=5; very frequently=6; always or almost always=7. The items are based on how often have you felt this way at work? There are three subscales of the Shirom-Melamed Vigor Measure. The three subscales are: Physical Strength; Emotional Energy; and Cognitive Liveliness. Higher scores indicate better outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (within 1 week after intervention ends)
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.