Take Home Messages:

People whose job is more physically active are also more likely to be physically active outside of work hours.

Therefore, it is even more important to encourage workers in sedentary jobs to undertake physical activity – both in and out of work hours.

Why the research matters:

People who are active have better health outcomes.  

Improving employee health can be helped by understanding the base level of activity. This will indicate whether specific groups need to be encouraged to engage in physical activity outside of work hours.

What the research involved:

Information obtained by the National Physical Activity and Weight Loss Survey was used in this study.  This was an American nationwide telephone survey conducted between September 2002 and December 2002.

People were excluded who were not employed or did not answer the occupational activity or physical activity questions.  Interviews from 6,360 adults were analysed by this study.

Lifestyle physical activity:

Questions were asked to determine the intensity, frequency and duration of physical activity that the person had undergone in the last seven days.

• Moderate intensity: activities causing a slight increase in heart rate (such as brisk walking); and
• Vigorous intensity: activities causing large increases in heart rate (such as running).

People were classified as engaging in regular moderate activity (moderate-intensity activity at least 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes) and regular vigorous activity (vigorous-intensity activity for at least 3 days a week for at least 20 minutes).

Everyone was then categorised as regularly active (either moderately active or vigorously active), insufficiently active (engaged in less activity than the regularly active levels), or inactive (no moderate- or vigorous-intensity activity).

Questions were also asked to ascertain the person’s age, sex, age, ethnicity, education, and income and body mass index.

Body mass index (BMI) was calculated based on figures of weight and height provided by the person (weight in kg/height in meters ²). Normal BMI is less than 25.0; overweight 25.0–29.9; obese 30.0 or higher

Occupational activity:

Occupational activity was grouped into mostly sitting or standing, mostly walking, mostly heavy labour, or physically demanding work.

Summary of research findings:

Occupational activity:

• Most people were inactive (sitting or standing) during their workday (54.7% of men and 67.8% of women).
• Men (25.7%) and women (25.5%) were equally likely to be employed in work that involved walking.
• Men were more likely to have jobs that involved heavy labour than women.

Body Mass index (BMI):

• 31.3% of men with sitting/standing occupations had a normal BMI.
• 36.6% of men with heavy labor occupations had a normal BMI.
• 53.4% of women in heavy labor occupations had a normal BMI.

Physical activity (outside of working hours)

• Both men and women whose work involved heavy labor were more active outside work hours than those whose jobs were less active.
• The more active the person’s occupation, the more likely they were to be physically active outside work hours.

• 60.7% of men and 55.7% of women employed in heavy labor were regularly active, whereas those who mostly walked or mostly sat or stood at work were less likely to be regularly active outside of work hours (approximately 43% to 51%).

Original research:

Is participation in occupational physical activity associated with lifestyle physical activity levels?

Kruger J, Yore MM, Ainsworth BE, Macera CA.

J Occup Environ Med. 2006 Nov;48(11):1143-8.

Link to PubMed abstract