Association between sedentary behavior, obesity and hypertension in public school teachers.

The present study aimed to verify the prevalence and association of sedentary behavior and its breaks with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in teaching professionals. The sample was composed by 245 public school teachers (186 women and 59 men), with a mean age of 45 yr. Sedentary behavior was evaluated by self-reported screen time in different devices (television, computer, cellphone/tablet), and sedentary breaks at work and leisure were assessed by a Likert scale (never, rarely, sometimes, often, always). Cardiovascular risk factors (overweight/obesity, abdominal obesity, blood pressure, and heart rate) were objectively collected by trained individuals in the work environment of the teachers. Logistic Binary Regression models were adjusted for confounding factors (age, sex, and socioeconomic status). The prevalence of sedentary behavior was 55.3% in the sample. High sedentary behavior was associated to abdominal obesity (OR=2.21 [CI=1.23-3.97]). No association was observed between sedentary breaks at work and independent variables, however teachers with high sedentary breaks at leisure time were less likely to present high blood pressure (OR=0.58 [CI=0.32-0.98]). In conclusion, high sedentary behavior was associated with abdominal obesity, and high sedentary breaks in leisure time were associated to lower chances of high blood pressure among public school teachers.

Association of sedentary behaviour patterns with dietary and lifestyle habits among public school teachers: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the association of sedentary behaviour patterns with dietary and lifestyle habits among public school teachers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 245 teachers (186 women and 59 men) with mean age of 45.2 (±10.4) were randomly selected from public schools. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Sedentary behaviour was assessed by hours spent watching television, computer and cellphone/tablet use and in sitting position. Sedentary breaks were reported in a Likert scale in domains of work and leisure time. Dietary habits were assessed by weekly consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fried foods, sweets, grains, cereals, white meat, soft drinks and snacks. Physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and socioeconomic status were assessed by using questionnaires. RESULTS: The prevalence of high sedentary behaviour, high sedentary breaks at work and at leisure was 57.9%, 67.7% and 70.2% in the sample, respectively. No relationship was observed of high sedentary behaviour with dietary and lifestyle habits in adjusted analysis. However, high sedentary breaks at work were associated with high consumption of dairy products (OR=1.93 (CI 1.07 to 3.51)) and cereals (OR=2.49 (CI 1.05 to 5.92)) and with being high physically active (OR=2.57 (CI 1.14 to 5.77)). High sedentary breaks at leisure time were associated with high consumption of fruits (OR=2.33 (CI 1.28 to 4.23)) and vegetables (OR=1.91 (CI 1.05 to 3.49)) and with be high physically active (OR=2.34 (CI 1.03 to 5.35)). High sedentary breaks were associated with better dietary habits even among teachers with high sedentary behaviour. CONCLUSION: High sedentary breaks were associated with better dietary habits and with high levels of physical activity among public school teachers, even those with high sedentary behaviour.