A Longitudinal Look at Habit Strength as a Measure of Success in Decreasing Prolonged Occupational Sitting: An Evidence-Based Public Health Initiative — Oak Academic Publishing
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A Longitudinal Look at Habit Strength as a Measure of Success in Decreasing Prolonged Occupational Sitting: An Evidence-Based Public Health Initiative
Active Work Laboratory, College of Arts, Law, and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia
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Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University, Ballarat, Australia
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Active Work Laboratory, College of Arts, Law, and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia
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Active Work Laboratory, College of Arts, Law, and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia
1 Active Work Laboratory, College of Arts, Law, and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia
2 Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University, Ballarat, Australia
3 Active Work Laboratory, College of Arts, Law, and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia
4 Active Work Laboratory, College of Arts, Law, and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia
Background: Sitting to perform desk-based work is considered to be a habit. To test this hypothesis, desk-based workers volunteered to be part of a yearlong pilot study utilising an e-health intervention designed to interrupt prolonged workplace sitting with movement breaks. Methods: Participants in a passive-prompt group had to engage with an e-health software programme on an hourly basis during work hours, while participants in an active-prompt group were allowed to postpone the prompt each hour. Daily adherence data and self-reported sitting habit strength were measured every 13 weeks for one year. A mixed design ANOVA was used to determine significant differences at the p < 0.05 level. Results: Passive-prompt participants reported significant improvements in reducing sitting habit strength over time, compared to ac tive-prompt participants who actually reported increased sitting habit strength. Conclusions: This study provided preliminary evidence that changing desk-based workers’ sitting habits might be more difficult than previously estimated and that passive-based interventions could be one solution.
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