Is sedentary behavior increasing with age?

Sedentary behavior has been identified as a significant risk factor for pre-mortality independently of daily physical activity. At the same time the number of older adults remaining at work increases nowadays. The issue of sedentary behavior in older adults is therefore a growing field of research. The results of studies on this field are not only scientifically important but also have an impact on social order.

The aim of our study was to analyze the correlation between age of sedentary workers and workplace sedentary time. Only studies with objectively measured sedentary behavior (e.g. using accelerometer based devices) were included. Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to assess the correlation between mean age of sedentary workers and mean workplace sedentary behavior of the samples taken from included studies.

Nine studies were included in analysis, which showed moderate, but statistically non-significant correlation between the analyzed variables (r = 0,48; p = 0,19).

Previous studies have indicated that sedentary behavior is increasing with age in sedentary workers. The limitation of our investigation are a lack of studies with younger participants and objectively measured sedentary behavior. Considering our results, there is a trend of increased sedentary behavior in older sedentary workers. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.