Research Impact: Adults spend most of their time outside of their workplace being sedentary, for example, sitting while watching TV or using a computer, or travelling to and from work in a car. Prolonged sedentary behaviour has been linked with increased risk of several diseases and premature death. The purpose of this Cochrane Review was to tell us whether interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour outside the workplace are effective. We found 13 relevant studies involving 1770 participants. All interventions were conducted in high‐income countries and targeted the individual level: none were environmental or policy. Intervention components included personal monitoring devices, information or education, counselling, and prompts to reduce sedentary behaviour.
It is currently unclear what interventions outside of the workplace, if any, might be effective for reducing sedentary behaviour. Interventions outside the workplace probably have little or no difference on device‐measured sedentary time. Evidence is uncertain about the effects of non‐workplace interventions on self‐reported sitting time. Interventions may result in little or no difference in self‐reported TV viewing time. The decision for policymakers or practitioners to recommend interventions outside the workplace to reduce sedentary behaviour in adults under 60 years should consider the certainty of this evidence base.
Murtagh EM, Murphy MH, Milton K, Roberts NW, O’Gorman CSM, Foster C. Interventions outside the workplace for reducing sedentary behaviour in adults under 60 years of age. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD012554. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012554.pub2
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