Effects of an Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in the Workplace During the Covid-19 Lockdown
Alejandro Romero-Caballero1*, Beatriz Crespo-Ruiz2 and Óscar L Veiga3
1Universidad Camilo José Cela, Physical Education Department, Madrid, Spain
2Freedom and Flow Company, Madrid, Spain
3Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Physical Education, Sport and Human Movement Department, Madrid, Spain
*Corresponding Author: Alejandro Romero-Caballero, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Physical Education Department, Madrid, Spain.
Received:
November 07, 2024; Published: November 29, 2024
Abstract
Introduction: A large part of the population spends most of its waking time in the workplace being an ideal place to implement health promotion programs. One of the gold habits to maintain and increase quality of life is physical activity. Inactive people have a greater risk of developing multiple diseases, compared to active individuals. However, more than 30% of adults do not reach the minimum recommended levels of physical activity, situation that was aggravated during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Objective: Given this situation, the present research studied the impact of a physical activity promotion program developed in the workplace during the COVID-19 lockdown, analyzing its effects on the level of physical activity and the sedentary behavior, as well as on the degree of knowledge of recommendations of physical activity for health, furthermore how the program impacted on the identification of workers with the organization. This research has the uniqueness of coinciding with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (including home lockdown), so that, it is able to show the effects of healthy physical activity promotion program in these singular circumstances, where physical mobility was restricted.
Methods: 53 office workers (15 women; 47.1 ± 8.9 years) participated in the study. The 19-week intervention was based on the theoretical model of behavior change Behavior Change Wheel and included the prescription of an individualized physical activity program and 9 workshops with the aim of increasing the participants’ knowledge about the positive impact of physical activity on health.
Results: The program was effective in increasing total PA (METS/week), vigorous physical activity (VPA), walking-derived physical activity (WPA), as well as the level of knowledge about the physical activity recommendations for health and the workers’ identity fusion with the company (p > .05). In addition, a borderline significance (p < .10) was observed for the improvement of sedentary behavior pattern during work activity.
Keywords: Workplace; Health Promotion; COVID-19; Physical Activity; Identity Fusion
References
- Van Dommelen P., et al. “Objectively measured total and occupational sedentary time in three work settings”. PLoS One 3 (2016).
- Moreno B. “Factors and occupational psychosocial risks: conceptualization, history and current changes”. Occupational Medicine and Safety 57 (2011): 4-19.
- Malik SH., et al. “A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity”. British Journal of Health Psychology 1 (2014): 149-180.
- Peachey MM., et al. “Environmental, behavioral and multicomponent interventions to reduce adults' sitting time: a systematic review and meta-analysis”. British Journal of Sports Medicine6 (2020): 315-325.
- Corr M., et al. “Supporting Our Lifelong Engagement: Mothers and Teens Exercising (SOLE MATES); a feasibility trial”. Women and Health (2019): 1-18.
- Burn NL., et al. “Effects of workplace-based physical activity interventions on cardiorespiratory fitness: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials”. Sports Medicine (2019): 1-20.
- World Health Organization. “Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Situation Report-51”. Geneva: World Health Organization (2020).
- Ding D., et al. “Is the COVID-19 lockdown nudging people to be more active: a big data analysis”. British Journal of Sports Medicine20 (2020): 1183-1184.
- Sport England. “New exercise habits forming during coronavirus crisis”. London, UK (2020).
- Ammar A., et al. “Effects of COVID-19 home confinement on physical activity and eating behavior Preliminary results of the ECLB-COVID19 international online-survey”. Nutrients 6 (2020): 1583.
- López-Bueno R., et al. “Immediate impact of the COVID-19 confinement on physical activity levels in Spanish adults”. Sustainability14 (2020): 5708.
- Deschasaux-Tanguy M., et al. “Diet and physical activity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown (March–May 2020): results from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort study”. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 4 (2021): 924-938.
- Michie S., et al. “The Behavior Change Wheel: A Guide to Designing Interventions”. London: Silverback (2014).
- Foster C., et al. “A new approach to monitoring exercise training”. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 1 (2001): 109-115.
- Craig CL., et al. “International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity”. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise8 (2003): 1381-1395.
- Roman-Viñas B., et al. “International physical activity questionnaire: reliability and validity in a Spanish population”. European Journal of Sport Science5 (2010): 297-304.
- Lynch BM., et al. “Development and testing of a past year measure of sedentary behavior: the SIT-Q”. BMC Public Health1 (2014): 899.
- Bull FC., et al. “World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour”. British Journal of Sports Medicine24 (2020): 1451-1462.
- Gómez A., et al. “On the nature of identity fusion: Insights into the construct and a new measure”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology5 (2011): 918.
- Fritz CO., et al. “Effect size estimates: current use, calculations, and interpretation”. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General1 (2012): 2.
- Dadaczynski K., et al. “Promoting physical activity in worksite settings: results of a German pilot study of the online intervention Healing fit”. BMC Public Health1 (2017): 696.
- Hunter JR., et al. “Exercise at an onsite facility with or without direct exercise supervision improves health-related physical fitness and exercise participation: An 8-week randomized controlled trial with 15-month follow-up”. Health Promotion Journal of Australia 1 (2018): 84-92.
- Van Hoye K., et al. “Year-round effects of a four-week randomized controlled trial using different types of feedback on employees' physical activity”. BMC Public Health1 (2018): 492.
- Johnson ST., et al. “Amen's workplace health intervention: results of the POWERPLAY program pilot study”. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine8 (2016): 765.
- Mansi S., et al. “Investigating the effect of a 3-month workplace-based pedometer-driven walking program on health-related quality of life in meat processing workers: a feasibility study within a randomized controlled trial”. BMC Public Health1 (2015): 1-12.
- Maugeri G., et al. “The impact of physical activity on psychological health during Covid-19 pandemic in Italy”. Heliyon6 (2020): e04315.
- McCarthy H., et al. “Physical Activity Behavior Before, During, and After COVID-19 Restrictions: Longitudinal Smartphone-Tracking Study of Adults in the United Kingdom”. Journal of Medical Internet Research2 (2021): e23701.
- Mason MR., et al. “An incentivized, workplace physical activity intervention preferentially increases daily steps in inactive employees”. American Journal of Health Promotion3 (2018): 638-645.
- Dale LP., et al. “Canadian physical activity guidelines for adults: are Canadians aware?” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism9 (2016): 1008-1011.
- Hunter RF., et al. “Knowledge of UK physical activity guidelines: Implications for better targeted health promotion”. Preventive Medicine 65 (2014): 33-39.
- Piercy KL., et al. “Understanding Contemplators' knowledge and awareness of the physical activity guidelines”. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 1 (2020): 1-8.
- Cheung C., et al. “Knowledge of Physical Activity Guidelines and Its Association with Physical Activity and Physical Function in Older Adults”. Activities, Adaptation and Aging2 (2020): 106-118.
- Chau JY., et al. “Are workplace interventions to reduce sitting effective? A systematic review”. Preventive Medicine5 (2010): 352-356.
- Puig-Ribera A., et al. “Patterns of impact resulting from a 'sit less, move more' web-based program in sedentary office employees”. PlOS One4 (2015): e0122474.
- Barwais FA., et al. “Physical activity, sedentary behavior and total wellness changes among sedentary adults: a 4-week randomized controlled trial”. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes1 (2013): 1-8.
- Ramos S., et al. “The Influence of Active Workstations on Work Performance, Productivity Indicators and Sedentary Time: A Systematic Review”. Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health (2019): 477-483.
- Prince SA., et al. “A comparison of the effectiveness of physical activity and sedentary behavior interventions in reducing sedentary time in adults: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of controlled trials”. Obesity Reviews11 (2014): 905-919.
- Brakenridge CL., et al. “Evaluating the effectiveness of organisational-level strategies with or without an activity tracker to reduce office workers' sitting time: a cluster-randomised trial”. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity1 (2016): 115.
- Romero-Blanco C., et al. “Physical activity and sedentary lifestyle in university students: Changes during confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health18 (2020): 6567.
- Healy GN., et al. “A cluster randomized controlled trial to reduce office workers' sitting time: impact on activity outcomes”. Medicine and Science In Sports and Exercise9 (2016): 1787-1797.
- Fernandez-Garcia AI., et al. “Impact of the Home Confinement Related to COVID-19 on the Device-Assessed Physical Activity and Sedentary Patterns of Spanish Older Adults”. BioMed Research International (2021):
- Schaap G. “Occupational Sedentary Behavior during COVID-19 regulations: related working from home”. (Master's thesis, University of Twente) (2020).
Citation
Copyright