Project: Promoting physical activity at work
Despite the well-known health benefits of regular physical activity, a large proportion of the general population are not sufficiently active to obtain these benefits. To be able to increase physical activity and eventually promote health, it is crucial to understand the factors that affect physical activity. A factor that may play a key role in determining daily physical activity is work. During a full-time working day adults spent approximately 31% of their day at work. The contribution of physical activity or inactivity performed at work, to total physical activity and inactivity, is therefore substantial. How physical activity performed at work impacts total physical activity is to date however still unclear. Moreover, little is known regarding a possible gender difference in physical activity associated with occupation.
In this project gender differences in the relationship between job type (sedentary/active) and objectively-measured physical activity are explored using objectively measured physical activity data from 2 cross-sectional studies from Sweden and the United States. The results may be used to identify target groups for the promotion of physical activity. This project is done in collaboration with the division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care
Sciences and Society, KI, the unit of Preventive Nutrition, Department of Nutrition and Biosciences, KI and the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, United States.