Leisure-time physical activity as a compensation for sedentary behaviour of professionally active population

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The aim of this work is to estimate leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) of the professionally-active population as a factor in early preventive medicine and diagnosing threats of occupational diseases. It was the basis for an analysis of the realisation of a pro-health dose of physical activity recommended by WHO (depending on the profession).

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS:

A survey based on IPAQ-LV was realised in 2014-2015 on a representative sample of Poles (n = 2039). The work presents results for professionally-active people (n = 985). In order to verify statistically significant differences a Chi², U-Mann Whitney and Kruskall-Wallis H tests were implemented.

RESULTS:

LTPA Index for the whole group was 895.6±1514.3 MET-minutes/week. No statistical relationship was found between the survey wave and the LTPA factor and particular activities: VPA, MPA and walking. The LTPA value was significantly related (Chi² = 19.9; p < 0.001) to the profession. LTPA Index was highest among the higher social stratification groups (directors/managers/owners: 1492.7±2348.1, higher level office workers: 957.6±1268.3, other office workers: 973.0±1677.5 MET-minutes/week) and the lowest among skilled workers (744.8±1325.8 MET-minutes/week). As many as 61.1% of respondents did not meet WHO recommendations. During week days, the greatest time spent sitting (Chi² = 0.000; p < 0.05) was stated for higher level office workers (6.4±4.2 hours/day) and directors/managers/owners (5.0±4.0 hours/day). Sitting time for weekends was not significantly different for these groups.

CONCLUSIONS:

Activities promoting LTPA should be addressed to all professional groups. It is essential to inform workers (especially physical workers) about the role of properly selected physical activity (in terms of time, frequency and type) to maintain a good state of health. A model-shaping influence of the high prestige groups may be helpful in changing lifestyle.

Keywords

LTPA Index WHO recommendations sedentary behaviour professional groups

1 Background

The global growth of service and office professions which do not require even moderate physical effort and lead to long periods of sitting results in a decrease of energy expenditure at work by 124–140 kcal/day [1]. Currently, a man performing very light work burns less than 300 kcal during a working day, those who have light work - only 300–800 kcal and those of a moderate occupation –800–1500 kcal. The energy expenditure among women is also respectively lower: <200; 200–700 and 700–1000 kcal [2].

What is more, adults (energy expenditure≤1.5 metabolic equivalents) spend as much as 50–68% of their daily time sitting or lying (7.3–9.3 hours/day) [3]. The longest time spent sitting is noted for office workers - as much as 65–75% of working time [4] (some data showing between 1.8–6 hours [5, 6]). Highly educated workers sit on average 5 hours per day [7]. Numerous study alarm about an increasing number of sedentary workers [8].

Researchers claim that people spending over 7 hours a day sitting are exposed to a higher risk of dying for any reason (5% higher for each hour of sitting) [9]. Despite the fact they do not relate LTPA and sitting at work [10, 11], they show that sitting may be an independent risk factor for losing health [12], regardless of undertaken MVPA [13]. However, they clearly stress that sitting as well as a lack of activity favour the spread of obesity [14], cardiovascular diseases [15], type 2 diabetes [16] and other metabolic risk factors [17] — and, as a result, even premature death [4, 18]. A significant issue is work efficiency, which is strongly related to employees’ health. A Polish report already shows that the costs of lost productivity caused by diabetes may amount even to 3.5 billion PLN and 53.3 billion PLN in the case of cardiovascular diseases [19].

Some of these problems are solved by implemented strategies for decreasing and/or eliminating the sitting time at work [20] — e.g. installing sit-stand desks [21, 22] or walking programmes [23, 24]. Analyses confirm the efficiency of these programmes and indicate a reverse relation between the sitting time and the number of steps taken [25]. Despite the fact that regulation of the desk height itself (sit-stand) does not increase physical activity (energy expenditure for sitting and standing is similar [26]), Walk@Work [27] and the ‘Sit less, move more’ programme [28] have led to an increase in walking by up to 2000 steps per day and a mean reduction in sitting time by around 20 minutes a day.

The EU Working Group ‘Sport and Health’ recommends increasing the level of leisure-time physical activity as a form of early preventive medicine and diagnosing the risks of occupational diseases [29]. A low energy expenditure and sitting at work may we compensated for by physical activity e.g. during activities in and around the house or during physical recreation [7]. However, some researchers do not observe such a relationship [11, 30], while others prove that a lack of leisure-time physical activity negatively influences work ability [31]. It seems that a detailed analysis of pro-health behaviour of employees, including their leisure time and physical activity, may solve numerous ambiguities and produce beneficial (for complex strategies) solutions. In this light, some essential questions arise: Are people working professionally physically active during their leisure time? Is their participation in sport and physical recreation increasing or decreasing in comparison to previous years? What types of effort are preferred?

These questions led to the idea of regular research into the physical activity of professionally working Poles. The objectives of the study were to:

to estimate and compare the LTPA index for the years 2014 and 2015 of the studied professional groups,

analyse the relation between LTPA with the occupied profession,

identify the possibility of meeting the pro-health activity dose recommended by WHO by professional groups, and

estimate the sitting time vs. professional status.

Tracing such phenomena may be helpful in creating more effective interventions, allowing particular groups (especially those of a low energy expenditure and long sitting time) to beome accustomed to an active and pro-health lifestyle.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Study design

The surveys were conducted on a representative sample of Poles aged 15+ (April 3–7, 2014 — Wave I — n = 1019; March 12, 2015 — Wave II — n = 1020) — using Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI). Surveys were conducted by trained and supervised pollsters from GfK Polonia, who formulated questions in a form equally legible for all respondents. The ethics committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences approved the study (approval no KEwN/60/2014), in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (2004).

2.2 Sampling procedure

The respondents were selected using the proportionate stratified sampling procedure. 55 strata were obtained as a result of crossing 9 macroregions with 7 classes of place of residence. In the second step, 170 municipalities were independently drawn from 55 strata, with probability proportional to the number of their residents aged 15 years and older. In the third step, for each of the 170 municipalities 6 addresses were drawn independently.

2.3 Participants

This paper presents only the results of studies concerning professionally-active Poles (n = 498 in 2014 and n = 487 in 2015) selected from the Polish sample. Professional groups were classified in the following way: directors/managers/owners, higher level office workers, other office workers, skilled workers and unskilled workers. The presented work did not concern farmers – a separate elaboration shall be devoted to them. The characteristics of the studied group is presented in Table 1.

Table 1
The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample

Factors	Wave I (n = 498)		Wave II (n = 487)		Total (n = 985)
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Gender
Female	215	43.2	223	45.8	438	44.5
Male	283	56.8	264	54.2	547	55.5
Age
15–29 years old	122	24.5	113	23.2	235	23.9
30–39 years old	142	28.5	150	30.8	292	29.6
40–49 years old	117	23.5	111	22.8	228	23.1
50–59 years old	99	19.9	75	15.4	174	17.7
>60 years old	18	3.6	38	7.8	56	5.7
Education
Primary	33	6.6	23	4.7	56	5.7
Vocational	177	35.5	135	27.7	312	31.7
Secondary	198	39.8	210	43.1	408	41.4
Higher	90	18.1	119	24.4	209	21.2
Place of residence
Village	169	33.9	142	29.2	311	31.6
City up to 50 thous. inhabitants	104	20.9	130	26.7	234	23.8
City with 50,1-500 thous. inhabitants	149	29.9	141	29.0	290	29.4
City over 500 thous. inhabitants	76	15.3	74	15.2	150	15.2
Average monthly gross income (per capita in household)*
<2000 zł/ε 500	65	13.1	63	12.9	128	13.0
2000–2999 PLN/ ε 501–749	109	21.9	88	18.1	197	20.0
3000–4499 PLN/ε 750–1124	164	32.9	167	34.3	331	33.6
≥4500 PLN/ ε 1125	160	32.1	169	34.7	329	33.4
Professional status
Directors/managers/owners	37	7.4	61	12.5	98	9.9
Higher level office workers	83	16.7	89	18.3	172	17.5
Other office workers	76	15.3	70	14.4	146	14.8
Skilled workers	256	51.4	225	46.2	481	48.8
Unskilled workers	46	9.2	42	8.6	88	8.9

In both waves respondents were selected in terms of set criteria on the basis of a representative demographic structure of the Polish population aged 15+, reflecting the structure of the adult Polish inhabitants in gender, age, education, number of people in the household, macroregion and place of residence, according to the Local Data Bank of the Polish Central Statistical Office. The sampling frame was delivered by the Department of the State Central Register and Computer Networks of the Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration.

2.4 Measure

The research tool was the Polish long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). In both the first and second wave, people were asked about physical activity undertaken during their leisure time (including vigorous and moderate activity and walking during the previous week). In the second wave, a question concerning the time of sitting during weekends and during weekdays (hours per day) was added. Walking meant e.g. marching, Nordic walking, walking. Moderate physical activity meant average effort with a slightly increased breathing rate and heart beat (e.g. swimming, yoga, recreational cycling, volleyball). Vigorous physical activity meant hard effort, causing increased breathing rate and heart beat (e.g. running, aerobics, sport cycling, tennis). In accordance with the IPAQ methodology, only activities lasting individually longer than 10 minutes were taken into consideration [32].

2.5 Data analysis

The Leisure-Time Physical Activity (LTPA) index of Poles was calculated on the basis of the collected data. This index was expressed in MET units – minutes a week – and constituted the sum of a weekly energy expenditure for the three aforementioned types of effort (vigorous, moderate, walking). The weekly energy expenditure for each of three activities was calculated by multiplying the MET assigned to it (vigorous – 8 MET, moderate – 4 MET and walking – 3.3 MET) by the number of days it was performed during a week, where MET corresponds to O₂ consumption during the rest and equals 3.5 ml O₂/kg of the body mass per minute.

In prevention of non-chronic disease, the type of activity, its regularity and its performance time are essential. This is why, after a standard calculation of the time and frequency of the declared activities (vigorous, moderate and walking) [32] and after considering the assessed LTPA index, the respondents were divided into those meeting and those not meeting the pro-health activity dose recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) — solely on the basis of the leisure time activity. Those meeting the recommendations are persons undertaking moderate activities≥150 minutes/week or vigorous≥75 minutes/week or walking≥150 minutes/week or an equivalent of a combination of all leisure-time activities exceeding 600 MET-minutes/week.

2.6 Statistical analysis

The statistical calculations were conducted using IBM^® SPSS^® Statistics, version 21. In order to verify whether the studied wave and professional status have an impact on the frequency of undertaken leisure-time physical activity (vigorous, moderate, walking), a Chi² test was used, accepting the significance level of 0.05. Since the dependent variables (LTPA index, vigorous and moderate, activity, walking) were not normally distributed U-Mann Whitney and Kruskall-Wallis H tests were used for evaluation of the significance of the differences between means of particular efforts depending on the survey wave and the professional status.

3 Results

3.1 LTPA index within wave I (2014) and II (2015)

Undertaking leisure-time physical activity was declared by 63.7% of professionally- active Poles (tab. 2). However, there were no stated statistically significant differences in this aspect, depending on the period of the survey (wave I –61.4% wave II –65.9%). In general, the respondents more often (Chi² = 307.4; p < 0.05) walked (53.7%) than exercised moderately (24.8%) or vigorously (17.8%). There is a slight indication that vigorous activity was observed relatively more often (Chi² = 5.52; p < 0.05) in the case of people from the second wave (20.6%) than in the first one (14.9%).

Table 2
Fraction of professionally active Poles participating in leisure physical activities (vigorous, moderate, walking)

Variables	Wave I (n = 498)		Wave II (n = 487)		Total (n = 985)
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Leisure-time physical activity	306	61.4	321	65.9	627	63.7
Vigorous	75	14.9	100	20.6^a	175	17.8
Moderate physical activity	126	25.1	118	24.3	244	24.8
Walking	253	50.8	275	56.6	528	53.7^b
No physical activity	192	38.6	166	34.1	358	36.4

Significantly different (p < 0.05): ^aVPA wave I vs. wave II; ^bwalking vs. other activities.

3.2 Relation between LTPA with the occupied profession

The Chi² test analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in undertaking leisure-time physical activity depending on the professional occupation. Namely, directors/managers/owners (69.4%), higher level office workers (68.6%) and other office workers (68.7%) declared an active way of spending their leisure time significantly more often (Chi² = 163.9; p < 0.05) than workers (skilled –59.6% and unskilled –60.9% ; tab. 3). Such differences were observed, in general, in each of declared vigorous activities (Chi² = 39.5; p < 0.001), moderate activities (Chi² = 22.2; p < 0.001) and walking (Chi² = 6.3; p < 0.05).

Table 3
Intensity of leisure physical activity declared by the sample of Polish population (n = 985) depending on professional status

Professional status	Leisure time physical activity						No LTPA
Professional status	Vigorous		Moderate		Walking
	χ² = 39.5; p < 0.001		χ² = 22.2; p < 0.001		χ² = 6.3; p > 0.05		χ² = 8.6; p > 0.05
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Directors/managers/owners (n = 98)	31	32.0	35	35.7	61	62.2	30	30.6^a
Higher level office workers (n = 172)	41	23.8	56	32.6	96	55.8	54	31.4^a
Other office workers (n = 146)	37	25.2	41	27.9	84	57.5	46	31.3^a
Skilled workers (n = 481)	60	12.5	90	18.7	242	50.4	194	40.4
Unskilled workers (n = 88)	6	6.9	22	25.3	45	51.7	34	39.1
Total	175	17.8	244	24.8	528	53.7	358	36.4

Significantly different (p < 0.05): ^aDirectors/managers/owners; higher level office workers; other office workers vs. other groups.

The leisure-time physical activity index calculated for the whole analysed group (the mean value from Waves I and Wave II) amounted to 895.6±1514.3 MET-minutes/week (tab. 4). U-Mann Whitney test revealed a lack of relationship between the wave and LTPA index (U = 120275.5; p > 0.05), as well as types of activities: VPA (U = 118353; p > 0.05), MPA (U = 124232; >0.05), walking (U = 120952; p > 0.05). The data analysis showed that the level of this index is significantly related (Chi² = 19.9; p < 0.001) to the occupation. It is similar in the case of vigorous (Chi² = 43.1; p < 0.001) and moderate physical activities (Chi² = 20.6; p < 0.001).

Table 4

Leisure time physical activity (in MET-min/week) physically active Poles (Wave I and II) depending on professional status and type of physical activity

Professional status	Leisure time physical activity in MET-min/week
	Vigorous physical activity $\bar{x}$ ±SD (min-max)	Moderate physical activity $\bar{x}$ ±SD (min-max)	Walking $\bar{x}$ ±SD (min-max)	LTPA Index $\bar{x}$ ±SD (min-max)
Directors/managers/owners	521.0±1164.2 (0–6720.0)	319.8±614.5 (0–3920.0)	652.0±1261.1 (0–9702.0)	1492.7±2348.1 (0–16662.0)
Higher level office workers	342.4±785.1 (0–6720.0)	244.6±521.9 (0–3849.0)	372.6±662.5 (0–5280.0)	957.6±1268.3 (0–6720.0)
Other office workers	428.1±1442.4 (0–24000.0)	207.5±437.1 (0–2400.0)	337.4±555.8 (0–5544.0)	973.0±1677.5 (0–24000.0)
Skilled workers	180.7±654.0 (0–6720.0)	139.8±555.7 (0–11760.0)	424.2±854.6 (0–6930.0)	744.8±1325.8 (0–13116.0)
Unskilled workers	160.0±816.2 (0–6720.0)	182.0±424.0 (0–1920.0)	459.5±763.1 (0–4158.0)	801.5±1300.8 (0–8106.0)
Total	277.8±911.8 (0–24000.0)	189.8±531.7 (0–11760.0)	427.7±832.2 (0–9702.0)	895.6±1514.3 (0–24000.0)
Chi²; p	43.1; < 0.001	20.6; p < 0.001	7.4; p < 0.05	19.9; < 0.001

Among the higher social stratification groups, LTPA Index was highest (directors/managers/owners –1492.7±2348.1, higher level office workers –957.6±1268.3, other office workers 973.0±1677.5 MET-minutes/week); Table 4). The opposite situation was observed among skilled workers, whose index was the lowest (744.8±1325.8 MET-minutes/week). It must be considered that this related particularly to vigorous (Chi² = 4.73; p < 0.001) and moderate activities (Chi² = 3.05; p < 0.05). In the group of skilled workers, the average energy expenditure for those activities (vigorous –180.7±654.0; moderate –139.8±555.7 MET-minutes/week) was relatively lower than in the group of directors/managers/owners (521.0±1164.2 and 319.8±614.5 MET-minutes/week respectively).

3.3 Meeting the pro-health activity dose recommended by WHO by professional groups

On the basis of the calculated LTPA Index and the time and frequency of declared activities (vigorous, moderate and walking), respondents were classified as physically active (in accordance with WHO criteria). However, as many as 61.1% of professionally-active Poles did not meet these recommendations. It must be said that there were proven statistically significant differences in this aspect (Chi² = 2.33; p < 0.001) depending on the occupation. This group of workers had the worst results. Compared to directors/managers/owners (51.0%), the fraction of inactive skilled workers (67.5% ; Chi² = 9.36; p < 0.05) and unskilled workers (67.8% ; Chi² = 5.42; p < 0.05) was statistically higher. Similar differences were observed for higher level office workers (52.9%) and skilled workers (Chi² = 11.43; p < 0.05) and unskilled workers (Chi² = 5.36; p < 0.05). The percentage of non-active office workers (52.7%) in relation to skilled workers (67.5%) was also significantly different (Chi² = 10.35; p < 0.05).

3.4 Sitting time on weekdays and weekends vs. professional status

An opposite phenomenon was observed in the case of sitting (Table 5). During business days, the greatest time spent sitting (Chi² = 0.000; p < 0.05) was stated for higher level office workers (6.4±4.2 hours/day) and directors/managers/owners (5.0±4.0 hours/day), compared to other groups.

Table 5
Average sitting time on weekdays and weekends (hrs/week) of physically active Poles based on Wave II

Professional status	Sitting in hours/week
	Weekdays $\bar{x}$ ±SD	Weekend $\bar{x}$ ±SD
Directors/managers/owners	5.0±4.0^a	5.1±4.0
Higher level office workers	6.4±4.2^a	4.5±3.6
Other office workers	4.0±3.0	4.2±3.9
Skilled workers	4.6±3.087	5.0±3.7
Unskilled workers	4.0±3.3	3.3±3.6
Total	4.9±3.5	4.6±3.8
p	0.0001	0.068

Significantly different (p < 0.05): ^aHigher level office workers vs. Other office workers, skilled and unskilled workers.

The average sitting time for the whole analysed group of professionally-active Poles during working days was 4.9±3.5 hours/day and 4.6±3.8 hours/day at weekends. Sitting time for weekends was not significantly different for them.

4 Discussion

The ability to perform professional work depends mainly on employees’ health [33]. However, maintaining a good state of health requires complex interventional programmes, including those which decrease sitting time at work and those which increase energy expenditure during leisure time [34]. As modern civilisation makes physical activity practically non-existent in everyday activities, at work or when commuting to work, leisure-time physical activity is, in general, the only chance for pro-health physical activity [35]. In light of the above factors, the Americans have launched an unusual application called FwdHealth — used for studying the physical activity of workers not only during their working time but for the whole day [36]. The aim of the application is to estimate the level of a worker’s health, probable costs of his/her absence (due to health problems) and the health insurance rate estimated by external companies for group insurance for employees. Thanks to FwdHealth, a company can find out how much time the employee has spent running, at a gym or in a swimming pool and the amount of time he/she spends sleeping. These data are segregated and used to create an employee’s health profile. Similar solutions are implemented by the Japanese government [37]. Companies whose employees are not able to control their body mass are obliged to regularly test all of their workers (aged over 40) as far as metabolic risk may occur. Males with a waist size over 85 cm and women over 90 cm are recommended to practise gymnastic exercises, follow a special diet and consult a medical doctor whenever necessary. However, such programmes are not yet common in Poland (apart from general recommendations of the National Health Programme). It is worth mentionining that workplaces have potential as a setting for physical activity promotion but evidence of the effectiveness of intervention programmes in small and medium sized enterprises is limited [38]. The results of this study and other Polish reports concerning various professional groups [35 , 40] point to the necessity of their introduction. They show that the dose of leisure-time physical activity of professionally- active Poles is too low in order to compensate for its absence in other areas of life. The results indicate that as many as 61.1% of respondents do not perform the pro-health leisure-time physical activity recommended by WHO, which may result in the double risk of affluence diseases. Unfortunately, this is not a rare phenomenon and concerns numerous analysed populations [7 , 41]. There are exceptions with Danes [42] and Scots [43], who are attempting to compensate for long sitting time at work through participation in sport. It is widely known that Scandinavian countries are the most active in this field. However, Kaleta and Jegier [44] draw attention to the fact that the level of education and the type of work undertaken, as well as a high energy expenditure on occupational activity, determine the lack of interest in taking up leisure-time physical activities. The presented studies acknowledge that the level of LTPA index of the occupationally active Polish population is significantly related with the profession. Highly educated workers are the most active. WHO recommendations – despite not being at a satisfactory level – are met by nearly half of directors/managers/owners (49.0%), higher level office workers (47.1%) and other office workers (47.3%). In comparison with them, the fraction of non-active skilled workers (67.5%) and unskilled workers (67.8%) was significantly higher. Slightly differing observations were made by Puciato et al. [45], as the lowest chances for meeting WHO recommendations were representatives of those professions which do not require too much physical activity, namely lawyers and economists (70.3%), medical doctors (64.7%), engineers (65.3%), managers (65.4%), office clerks (68.5%), retirees and pensioners (64.9%), and the unemployed (67.6%). On the other hand, the largest chances were observed in the cases of physical workers (25.8%), operators (44.8%), teachers and scientists (49.7%), and uniformed services (50.0%). However, it must be stated that the authors of these studies evaluated the total physical activity, thus also including activity at work and while commuting to work. What is more, they state that cultural and environmental aspects could have had some influence (passive life style of Lower Silesia inhabitants) and a high level of urbanization and natural environmental pollution of a region, and that this may limit the possibilities of performing physical activities outdoors.

This study, based solely on leisure-time physical activity, shows that LTPA Index is the highest among higher stratification groups (from 957.6±1268.3 to 1492.7±2348.1 MET-minutes/week), while lowest among workers (from 744.8±1325.8 to 801.5±1300.8 MET-minutes/week). However, this concerns mainly vigorous and moderate activities (walking level is similar among all respondents).

This confirms a known rule that the higher the education, professional status and related incomes, the lower the percentage of people of a low level of physical activity [46] and the longer time of LTPA participation [47]. The observed relationship between higher education and taking care of one’s own physical condition seems to be quite natural. Higher education is not only related to broader knowledge about ways of taking care of one’s own health but also the position in the professional structure, which often requires a creative approach towards good fitness, stress resilience, good physical appearance and a slim figure. All of these factors favour the decision to work regularly on one’s own physical condition.

On the other hand, people of a lower occupational status are, generally, more physically active at work, at home and during commuting to work [48]. Thus, lower leisure-time physical activity results from a higher activity during other aspects of life [44]. Another important thing is a lower pro-health awareness, motivation towards such behaviour and lower financial resources. Reports by Kaleta et al. [31] claim that workers, especially those who perform hard physical work, are commonly more reluctant to engage in leisure-time physical activities. It seems that in this occupational group the belief that they deserve a rest (“doing nothing”) after a hard day at work predominates because they had enough exercise at work. However, the researchers state that people need another form of activity in contrast to those of everyday duties. Physical effort at work (especially a static heavy workload) does not always bring pro-health benefits and sometime even increases the risk of various diseases, e.g. cardiovascular or motor diseases [45, 49].

Other unfavourable effects on health can be caused by sitting for a long time. Despite the fact that it is definitely shorter (working days –4.9±3.5; weekends –4.6±3.8 hours/day) than in case of respondents from other countries (highly educated — about 5 hours [7], office workers — about 6 hours/working day [5], adult Canadians –7.3–9.3 hours/day [3]), it seems that is not a matter of the nationality but the underestimation. Sitting time was recorded only on the basis of declarations. Of course, during business days, the highest time spent sitting was stated for higher level office workers (6,4±4,2 hours/day) and directors/managers/owners (5,0±4,0 hours/day). According to the data, persons working with computers in commercial services, in transport, banking and insurance, as well as in governmental judicature organisations, sit significantly longer than average workers [42, 50], which is proved by this study. Sitting time during weekends was not significantly different for the studied groups.

5 Conclusions

One of the most essential tasks of the state’s pro-health policy should be activities promoting leisure-time physical activity among occupational groups which are at special risk because of its absence. This results of this study show that this concerns, in general, all employees, especially physical workers. Thus, efficient strategies should focus on increasing awareness and modifying attitudes and beliefs of working-age citizens. Although we are observing a slight growth in the percentage of active persons (4.6% in comparison to the first wave), over 60% of respondents still do not meet WHO recommendations. It is crucial to inform workers (especially physical workers) about the role of a properly selected physical activity (in terms of time, frequency and type) in order to maintain a good state of health. What is more, it also seems important to increase the possibilities of participation in various programmes, including attractive forms of sport and recreation. The influence of the high prestige groups as role-models may be helpful in changing lifestyle in Polish society.

6 Limitations

This study had limitations that should be considered when examining the results. First, the study design was based on a self-report method of measuring physical activity which possesses several limitations in terms of their reliability and validity. In this case it might have caused substantial overestimations of declared activities and underestimation of stting time. Therefore, it is suggested to use more objective or direct measures of physical activity to increase precision and accuracy and to validate the self-report measures. Second, the study examined only LTPA, thefore further research evaluating the physical activity level of the professional groups in other areas of their daily activity is obviously necessary to provide a full picture of physical activity among the studied groups. Third, it must be noted that the study is based on the representative sample of the Polish population, not a representative sample of the studied professional groups. Therefore, one must be attentive while generalizing the results to the whole population.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The research was conducted by Gfk Polonia and commissioned by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Poland.

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Leisure-time physical activity as a compensation for sedentary behaviour of professionally active population

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSIONS:

Keywords

1 Background

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Study design

2.2 Sampling procedure

2.3 Participants

Table 1 The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample

2.5 Data analysis

2.6 Statistical analysis

3 Results

3.1 LTPA index within wave I (2014) and II (2015)

Table 2 Fraction of professionally active Poles participating in leisure physical activities (vigorous, moderate, walking)

Table 3 Intensity of leisure physical activity declared by the sample of Polish population (n = 985) depending on professional status

3.4 Sitting time on weekdays and weekends vs. professional status

Table 5 Average sitting time on weekdays and weekends (hrs/week) of physically active Poles based on Wave II

5 Conclusions

6 Limitations

Conflict of interest

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

References

Table 1
The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample

Table 2
Fraction of professionally active Poles participating in leisure physical activities (vigorous, moderate, walking)

Table 3
Intensity of leisure physical activity declared by the sample of Polish population (n = 985) depending on professional status

Table 5
Average sitting time on weekdays and weekends (hrs/week) of physically active Poles based on Wave II