This paper reports on a study on improving the health and fitness of office workers in Iran using a comprehensive model. The research design was a randomized controlled trial involving 294 employees. The intervention was a 6-month program to promote physical activity. The primary outcome measure was their scores on the physical activity (PA) index recorded at 3 and 6 months. A statistically significantly increase in PA was found in the intervention group over the control group. In addition, the mean values of related health and physiological indices of the intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant increase compared to the control group. The conclusions of this study support research findings in multiple countries, that the physical activity and health of office workers can be improved in a short period.
American College of Sports Medicine. (2018). ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (10th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ISBN: 9781496339065, NLM ID: 101692713 [Book]
2.
AittasaloM.MiilunpaloS.SuniJ. (2004). The effectiveness of physical activity counseling in a work-site setting. A randomized, controlled trial. Patient Education and Counseling, 55(2), 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2003.09.003
3.
BaeckeJ. A.BuremaJ.FrijtersJ. E. (1982). A short questionnaire for the measurement of habitual physical activity in epidemiological studies. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 36(5), 936–942. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/36.5.936
4.
CalderwoodC.ten BrummelhuisL. L.PatelA. S.WatkinsT.GabrielA. S.RosenC. C. (2021). Employee physical activity: A multidisciplinary integrative review. Journal of Management, 47(1), 144–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320940413
5.
CarlsonS. A.FultonJ. E.PrattM.YangZ.AdamsE. K. (2015). Inadequate physical activity and health care expenditures in the United States. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 57(4), 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2014.08.002
6.
FakhrzadehH.DjalaliniaS.MirarefinM.ArefiradT.AsayeshH.SafiriS.SamamiE.MansourianM.ShamsizadehM.QorbaniM. (2016). Prevalence of physical inactivity in Iran: a systematic review. Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Research, 8(3), 92–97. https://doi.org/10.15171/jcvtr.2016.20
7.
FleuryJ.LeeS. M. (2006). The social ecological model and physical activity in African American women. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37(1–2), 129–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-005-9002-7
8.
GargariA. S.HosseiniF. S.AhmadiM. (2018), Effect of an intervention based on socio-ecological model in promoting physical activity of female employees. Journal of Research and Health, 8(2), 163–172. https://doi.org/10.29252/jrh.8.2.163
9.
HealyG. N.EakinE. G.OwenN.LamontagneA. D.MoodieM.WinklerE. A.FjeldsoeB. S.WiesnerG.WillenbergL.DunstanD. W. (2016). A cluster randomized controlled trial to reduce office workers’ sitting time: Effect on activity outcomes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 48(9), 1787–1797. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000972
LeeI. M.ShiromaE. J.LobeloF.PuskaP.BlairS. N.KatzmarzykP. T., & Lancet Physical Activity Series Working Group (2012). Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: An analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. Lancet, 380(9838), 219–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61031-9
12.
MathiowetzV.WeberK.VollandG.KashmanN. (1984). Reliability and validity of grip and pinch strength evaluations. The Journal of Hand Surgery, 9(2), 222–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0363-5023(84)80146-x
13.
MullaneS. L.ToledoM.RydellS. A.FeltesL. H.VuongB.CrespoN. C.PereiraM. A.BumanM. P. (2017). Social ecological correlates of workplace sedentary behavior. TheInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14(1), 117. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0576-x
14.
PronkN. P.MartinsonB.KesslerR. C.BeckA. L.SimonG. E.WangP. (2004). The association between work performance and physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and obesity. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 46(1), 19–25. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jom.0000105910.69449.b7
15.
SadeghisaniM.Dehghan ManshadiF.AzimiH.MontazeriA. (2016). Validity and reliability of the Persian version of Baecke habitual physical activity questionnaire in healthy subjects. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, 7(3), e31778. https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.31778
SwainD. P. & American College of Sports Medicine. (2014). ACSM’s resource manual for guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (7th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
18.
TaylorW. C.PaxtonR. J.ShegogR.CoanS. P.DubinA.PageT. F.RempelD. M. (2016). Impact of booster breaks and computer prompts on physical activity and sedentary behavior among desk-based workers: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Preventing Chronic Disease, 13, E155. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd13.160231
