Architectural Design Interventions for Sedentary Behaviour among Workers in Office Buildings in Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Sedentary behaviour within buildings has become a major public health issue particularly now that a large number of people are engaged in one form of office work or the other. In the midst of this, there is a paucity of research on how the design of office spaces can help discourage sedentary behaviour and reduce the health risks associated with it among office workers, especially in the developing countries. This study investigated sedentary behaviour among office workers in Enugu, Nigeria, with a view to improving understanding of the architectural design strategies for checking it. The data were sourced from a survey of 106 office workers in the study area and analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Duncan multiple comparison test. The findings show that the predominant office layouts identified were personalized and co-working layouts with workers spending around 93% of the total time at work sitting. Variations were observed in the level of physical activity of workers in the different office layouts with those in personal office layouts manifesting sedentary behaviour more than those in co-working and open-plan office layouts. The findings are incisive in noting that to discourage sedentary behaviour in offices and reduce the exposure of workers to sedentary related health risks, architects and engineers should pay adequate attention to co-working and open plan office layouts, centralised and shared office resources and the use of lobbies and corridors in linking main office spaces to ancillary facilities.