Affiliations: [a]
Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
| [b]
Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| [c]
Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| [d]
Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| [e] We Choose Health Director, Two Rivers YMCA, Moline, IL, USA
| [f]
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Bhibha M. Das, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University, 172 Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. E-mail: dasb@ecu.edu.
Abstract: Increased sedentary behavior and reduced physical activity are risk factors for morbidity and mortality. As adults spend a significant portion of their time at work where the default is to spend the majority of the day sitting, shifting workplace norms to decrease sedentary time and increase active time could have a public health impact. Workplaces offer a unique setting for multi-level interventions that can reach diverse populations. Traditional worksite wellness initiatives have produced equivocal results in terms of increasing physical activity. One reason for this may be the focus on corporate-fitness type programs and health education with little change in workplace culture. More innovative approaches combining theory-based worksite wellness components with behavioral economics approaches promoting incidental physical activity at the workplace to make activity the default may be necessary. This article discusses strategies to shift the workplace paradigm from being sedentary to more active using a range of approaches.
