Sedentary behaviours
WHO recommendations part four
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reviewed the exercise science literature and formulated some physical activity guidelines for adults (age 18-64 years), the final recommendation involves reducing sedentary behaviours, the recommendations are:
Adults should limit the amount of time spent being sedentary. Replacing sedentary time with physical activity of any intensity (including light intensity).
To help reduce the detrimental effects of high levels of sedentary behaviour on health, adults should aim to do more than the recommended levels of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity.
The first parts of the WHO’s physical activity recommendations focus on how much aerobic and muscle strengthening is required to positively influence an individual’s health. The recommendations give guidance around exercise intensity, duration, frequency, and can be used as a physical activity target or minimum threshold. The sedentary behaviour recommendations suggest meeting physical activity recommendations may not be enough if we’re also highly inactive (or sedentary). The sedentary recommendations are focused on what we do when we’re not exercising or being physically active, such as being seated for extended periods. The WHO defines sedentary behaviour as:
“time spent sitting or lying with low energy expenditure, while awake, in the context of occupational, educational, home and community settings, and transportation.”
The WHO’s rationale for these recommendations are that sedentary behaviours are correlated with greater all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence and type-2 diabetes incidence.
Sedentary recommendation one
Adults should limit the amount of time spent being sedentary. Replacing sedentary time with physical activity of any intensity (including light intensity).
Abbie is a solicitor and one of the occupational requirements for her job is to be seated at a desk preparing legal documentation, in some instances she can be seated for hours at a time. Currently the scientific understanding of sedentary behaviour is not at the level to make a call on exactly how much occupational sitting equates to sedentary behaviour, making it difficult to classify Abbie’s experience. However, once aware of the sedentary behaviour recommendation, Abbie decides to set a 30-minute alarm while at work, which serves as a semi-regular reminder for her to stand and do some brief, light intensity physical activity. When the alarm sounds Abbie may walk to the office tearoom and back or do a few yoga postures. These physical activity breaks help Abbie manage the extended sitting that her work sometimes requires.
Sedentary recommendation two
To help reduce the detrimental effects of high levels of sedentary behaviour on health, adults should aim to do more than the recommended levels of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity.
Jamie is a truck driver; his interests are weight training and growing vegetables. When not on the road Jamie starts every day walking his dog. Combined the gardening, weight training and dog walking fulfill the WHO’s physical activity recommendations. Unfortunately truck driving is a highly sedentary occupation and Jamie can be seated for 4-hours at a time. The sedentary behaviour recommendation suggests that people who fulfill the WHO physical activity recommendations and are sedentary may need to do more exercise/physical activity to offset the sedentary effects. Once aware of the sedentary recommendation, Jamie commits to adding some higher intensity running in to his weekly schedule.
This post is part of small series built around the WHO’s physical activity guidelines for adults (age 18-64 years), here’s the links for part one, part two and part three.
Thanks for reading, Warwick.. (Movement Health, Forster Tuncurry Massage)
(If you found this article helpful and would like to support my writing, you could, shout me a coffee).
World Health Organization. (2020). WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Geneva. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/336656/9789240015128-eng.pdf?sequence=1
*Disclaimer, this is a discussion and does not represent an exercise prescription, for exercise or injury advice seek an appropriately trained health professional.