Association Between Employment Status and Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior-The Maastricht Study

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between employment status and physical activity and sedentary behavior.

Methods: We included 2045 participants from The Maastricht Study, who used a thigh-worn accelerometer. We compared time spent sedentary, standing, stepping, and higher intensity physical activity between participants with different employment status (non-employed or low-, intermediate- or high-level occupation) with analysis of variance.

Results: Participants in low-level occupations were less sedentary and standing and stepping more than those in other occupational categories and non-employed participants. Among the employed, the differences were mostly observed on weekdays, whereas the differences in sedentary time and standing between those in low-level occupations and non-employed participants were evident both on weekdays and weekend days.

Conclusions: Those in low-level occupational category were less sedentary and more active than non-employed and those in other occupational categories, especially on weekdays.