Séminaire - Pam TEN BROEKE

Title: Towards healthier sitting: A psychological approach

In this talk, I will address two challenges in the research field of sitting behavior, that need to be overcome to improve the long-term effectiveness of interventions.
First, sitting behavior is often operationalized in average, total sitting time (e.g., per day). I propose that it is more functional to focus on the actual behaviors that make up sitting behavior: people’s stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand transitions. To illustrate, I will present two accelerometry studies in which I analyzed how patterns of stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand transitions change during the day. We found that office workers were quicker to switch postures later on the workday (Study 1), and that CVD patients especially engage in prolonged sitting in evenings and after higher-than-usual activity (Study 2).
Second, I propose that sitting behavior research lacks a thorough understanding of the role of sitting behavior in people’s daily lives. I will present a conceptual framework based on action identification theory. In addition, I will present preliminary results (Study 3; expected end of May) on how office workers’ stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand transitions are related to the environmental design of office buildings. I will end with concrete recommendations to make sitting behavior interventions more effective in the long run.