Hectic work doesn't mean you are active

Washington: A new study has suggested that even a busy job may not provide enough exercise to meet current activity recommendations for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Eleanor McIntyre from the Galway University Hospital in Ireland said that the workplace, where most adults spend around 60 percent of their waking hours, represents a significant domain where short bouts of physical activity can be accrued and counted towards the recommended guidelines for CVD prevention.

However, results from this small study, which assessed the activity levels of all employees in an inevitably busy hospital, suggest that sedentary behaviour is still prevalent, with levels of physical activity insufficient to reduce CVD risk.

The study examined the activity patterns of 83 employees working in six occupational groups at the Galway University Hospital during a typical working week. Everyone wore a pedometer to record each step taken and energy expenditure was assessed according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

McIntyre added that further analysis of IPAQ and pedometer data revealed that only half the employees reached levels of activity consistent with national guidelines, which, as set out by Ireland's Campaign for Fighting Heart Disease and Stroke and in line with most other countries, aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity per week.

McIntyre noted that although national physical activity guidelines were met by 47 percent of the secretaries, as a group they walked the least number of steps per day and sat for most minutes per week. This is an important and often overlooked ambiguity between sedentary behaviour and physical activity.

Even though around two-thirds of the employees were aware of the national prevention guidelines for physical activity, the investigators concluded that health promotion policies were not sufficiently applied within the workplace.