Perceived office environments and occupational physical activity in office-based workers.

BACKGROUND: Individuals in office-based occupations have low levels of physical activity but there is little research into the socio-ecological correlates of workplace activity. AIMS: To identify factors contributing to office-based workers' perceptions of the office environment and explore cross-sectional relationships between these factors and occupational physical activity. METHODS: Participants in the Active Buildings study reported perceptions of their office environment using the Movement at Work Survey. A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on survey items. A sub-sample wore the ActivPAL3TM accelerometer for ≥3 workdays to measure occupational step count, standing, sitting and sit-to-stand transitions. Linear regression analyses assessed relationships between environmental perceptions and activity. RESULTS: There were 433 participants, with accelerometer data available for 115 participants across 11 organ izations. The PCA revealed four factors: (i) perceived distance to office destinations, (ii) perceived office aesthetics and comfort, (iii) perceived office social environment and (iv) perceived management discouragement of unscheduled breaks. Younger participants perceived office destinations as being closer to their desk. Younger and female participants perceived more positive office social environments; there were no other socio-demographic differences. Within the sub-sample with accelerometer data, perceived discouragement of breaks by management was related to occupational step count/hour (B = -64.5; 95% CI -109.7 to -19.2). No other environmental perceptions were related to activity or sitting. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived managerial discouragement of breaks could be related to meaningful decreases in occupational step count. Future research should aim to elucidate the role of the workplace socio-cultural environment in occupational walking, with a focus on the role of management.

A review of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour correlates.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity reduces the risk of morbidity and high sedentary time may be associated with negative health outcomes. The workplace offers an arena to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary time, but existing workplace-based interventions have typically yielded small effects. AIMS: To collate the literature on correlates of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour and to inform future novel approaches to workplace-based intervention or policy. METHODS: Systematic literature searches were conducted in December 2014 using multiple databases. Identified papers were screened against an inclusion criterion. Papers were deemed eligible for this review if they included occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour as an outcome, were quantitative observational studies and included an adult working population. Identified correlates of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour were organized into levels of the socioecological model. RESULTS: Forty studies met the inclusion criterion. A higher number of studies included only occupational physical activity, not sedentary time, as an outcome and were carried out in the USA and Australia. The review identified that white-collar workers are at greater risk of low occupational physical activity and high sedentary time. The majority of correlates found to be associated with occupational physical activity and sedentary time were intrapersonal and non-modifiable. CONCLUSIONS: Intervention efforts to increase occupational physical activity and reduce sedentary time may be most effective when targeted at white-collar workers. Research is needed to identify additional modifiable correlates of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour, in white-collar workers.

Historic Variations in Winter Indoor Domestic Temperatures and Potential Implications for Body Weight Gain.

It has been argued that the amount of time spent by humans in thermoneutral environments has increased in recent decades. This paper examines evidence of historic changes in winter domestic temperatures in industrialised countries. Future trajectories for indoor thermal comfort are also explored. Whilst methodological differences across studies make it difficult to compare data and accurately estimate the absolute size of historic changes in indoor domestic temperatures, data analysis does suggest an upward trend, particularly in bedrooms. The variations in indoor winter residential temperatures might have been further exacerbated in some countries by a temporary drop in demand temperatures due to the 1970s energy crisis, as well as by recent changes in the building stock. In the United Kingdom, for example, spot measurement data indicate that an increase of up to 1.3°C per decade in mean dwelling winter indoor temperatures may have occurred from 1978 to 1996. The findings of this review paper are also discussed in the context of their significance for human health and well-being. In particular, historic indoor domestic temperature trends are discussed in conjunction with evidence on the links between low ambient temperatures, body energy expenditure and weight gain.

Building health: an epidemiological study of "sick building syndrome" in the Whitehall II study.

OBJECTIVES: Sick building syndrome (SBS) is described as a group of symptoms attributed to the physical environment of specific buildings. Isolating particular environmental features responsible for the symptoms has proved difficult. This study explores the role and significance of the physical and psychosocial work environment in explaining SBS. METHODS: Cross sectional data on the physical environment of a selection of buildings were added to individual data from the Whitehall II study--an ongoing health survey of office based civil servants. A self-report questionnaire was used to capture 10 symptoms of the SBS and psychosocial work stress. In total, 4052 participants aged 42-62 years working in 44 buildings were included in this study. RESULTS: No significant relation was found between most aspects of the physical work environment and symptom prevalence, adjusted for age, sex, and employment grade. Positive (non-significant) relations were found only with airborne bacteria, inhalable dust, dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, and having some control over the local physical environment. Greater effects were found with features of the psychosocial work environment including high job demands and low support. Only psychosocial work characteristics and control over the physical environment were independently associated with symptoms in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The physical environment of office buildings appears to be less important than features of the psychosocial work environment in explaining differences in the prevalence of symptoms.