title: The sedentary office: an expert statement on the growing case for change towards better health and productivity.
abstract: An international group of experts convened to provide guidance for employers to promote the avoidance of prolonged periods of sedentary work. The set of recommendations was developed from the totality of the current evidence, including long-term epidemiological studies and interventional studies of getting workers to stand and/or move more frequently. The evidence was ranked in quality using the four levels of the American College of Sports Medicine. The derived guidance is as follows: for those occupations which are predominantly desk based, workers should aim to initially progress towards accumulating 2 h/day of standing and light activity (light walking) during working hours, eventually progressing to a total accumulation of 4 h/day (prorated to part-time hours). To achieve this, seated-based work should be regularly broken up with standing-based work, the use of sit-stand desks, or the taking of short active standing breaks. Along with other health promotion goals (improved nutrition, reducing alcohol, smoking and stress), companies should also promote among their staff that prolonged sitting, aggregated from work and in leisure time, may significantly and independently increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and premature mortality. It is appreciated that these recommendations should be interpreted in relation to the evidence from which they were derived, largely observational and retrospective studies, or short-term interventional studies showing acute cardiometabolic changes. While longer term intervention studies are required, the level of consistent evidence accumulated to date, and the public health context of rising chronic diseases, suggest initial guidelines are justified. We hope these guidelines stimulate future research, and that greater precision will be possible within future iterations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medicine, University Centre Shrewsbury and University of Chester, Chester, UK.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.affiliation: Department of Design and Environment Analysis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedge
authors.affiliation: NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit, Leicester Diabetes Centre, Leicester, UK Diabetes Research Centre, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yates
authors.affiliation: The National Centre for Sport & Exercise Medicine and, The Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loosemore
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8726-7992
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.affiliation: Active Working CIC Teddington, London, UK.
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Dunstan
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D016272:Occupational Health; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D017132:Workplace / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Cardiovascular; Diabetes; Physical activity; Prevention