Abstract
BackgroundRelatively little is known about how total sedentary time is accumulated in different domains and if correlates of sedentary time differ across domains. Time use surveys present a unique opportunity to study sedentary time in more detail. This study aimed to use the 2006 Dutch time use survey to 1) describe the (sedentary) time use of Dutch adults, and 2) explore socio-demographic and health-related correlates of total (non-occupational) and domain-specific sedentary time.MethodsThe Dutch time use survey randomly selected participants from a population-representative research sample of Dutch households. Participants reported daily activities on seven consecutive days using a time use diary and socio-demographic and health-related characteristics during telephone interviews. All reported activities were coded for activity domain (i.e. education; household; leisure; occupation; sleep; transport; voluntary work) and activity intensity (i.e. sedentary; light intensity physical activity; moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity). As occupational activities were not specified in sufficient detail, the intensity of these activities was unknown. We described the time spent in different domains and intensities, and assessed the socio-demographic and health-related correlates of high levels of total (non-occupational), household, leisure, and transport sedentary time using logistic regression analyses.ResultsThe final dataset consisted of 1614 adult (18+) participants. On average, participants spent 8.0 h (61.1%) of their daily waking non-occupational time on sedentary activities. More than 87% of leisure time was spent sedentary. Men, participants aged 18–34 and 65+ years, full-time employed participants and obese participants had higher levels of total non-occupational sedentary time. The correlates of household, leisure and transport sedentary time differed by domain.ConclusionsThis study reports high levels of total non-occupational sitting time of Dutch adults. The large proportion of sedentary leisure activities might indicate the potential of strategies aiming to reduce leisure sedentary time. The difference in correlates across sedentary behaviour domains demonstrates the importance of targeting these domains differently in interventions and policies.
Highlights
Little is known about how total sedentary time is accumulated in different domains and if correlates of sedentary time differ across domains
The current study investigated the time use of adults in the Netherlands according to the 2006 Dutch time use survey, as well as the potential correlates of high levels of sedentary time
Almost 90% of the time spent on leisure activities, and 70% of the time spent on transport activities, was Participants spent 8 h of their waking, non-occupational time/day on sedentary activities
Summary
Little is known about how total sedentary time is accumulated in different domains and if correlates of sedentary time differ across domains. This study aimed to use the 2006 Dutch time use survey to 1) describe the (sedentary) time use of Dutch adults, and 2) explore socio-demographic and health-related correlates of total (non-occupational) and domain-specific sedentary time. The risk of all-cause mortality is shown to increase if adults accumulate more than 6 to 8 h of sedentary time per day [3, 4]. Questionnaires often ask about the total time spent sitting on a usual day, without assessing the specific types of sedentary behaviour or the domain in which the behaviours occurred [7, 8], limiting the understanding of the nature and context of the sedentary behaviours and the potential for translation to domain-specific interventions and policies aiming to reduce sedentary time
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