Conclusions Workplace-based physical activity interventions consisting of at least moderate-intensity activity improve cardiorespiratory fitness .
At the present time , we surmise that no single group of employees ( e.g. older employees or less fit individuals ) can be definitively identified as st and ing to benefit more from workplace physical activity interventions than others .
This demonstrates the potential utility of workplace physical activity interventions for improving cardiorespiratory fitness in a broad range of healthy employees .
Background Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor of all-cause mortality .
Physical activity of at least moderate intensity can improve cardiorespiratory fitness .
Workplaces may provide a relatively controlled setting in which to improve cardiorespiratory fitness through physical activity .
Limited work has been conducted to quantify the impact of delivering physical activity in the workplace on cardiorespiratory fitness .
Objective The objective of this systematic review was to quantify the effects of workplace physical activity interventions on peak oxygen consumption ( VO2peak ) and explore study and participant characteristics as putative moderators .
Evaluating the effects of a low volume stairclimbing programme on measures of health-related fitness in sedentary office workers.
Despite its obvious advantages , few studies have examined health outcomes of regular stariclimbing . In this study , we investigated the training effects of eight weeks of stairclimbing on recognised measures of health-related fitness in an occupational setting . Forty-five public sector employees ( 22 male , 23 female ) aged 42.3 ± 9.0 years were r and omly assigned to control ( n = 16 ) or stairclimbing  ( n = 29 ) groups . Stairclimbing training began with 1 bout 5d·wk(-1 ) in week 1 , increasing by one climb per day every two weeks until week 5 , where a maintenance level of 3 climbs per day was reached . Participants climbed on staircases located within an 8 storey office block , consisting of 145 steps . The prescribed exercise intensity involved climbing the 8 flights of stairs at a rate of 75 steps·min(-1 ) . All participants agreed not to change their diet or lifestyle over the experimental period . Relative to controls , the stairclimbing group showed a significant increase of 9.4 % in predicted VO2max ( p < 0 . 05 ) . No significant changes in blood pressure , blood lipid concentrations or body composition were noted . These findings provide evidence that stairclimbing can enhance an important component of health-related fitness , namely cardiovascular fitness . Given that such improvement result ed from less than 30 minutes per week of moderate exercise , stairclimbing in the workplace should be promoted as a health-enhancing physical activity . Key pointsLow volumes of stairclimbing significantly increased a key component of cardiorespiratory fitness , namely VO2max . Stairclimbing can therefore be promoted within the typical urban workplace as a health enhancing activity . Indices of morphological or metabolic fitness may require larger volumes of stairclimbing than as prescribed in the current study
Conclusions Workplace-based physical activity interventions consisting of at least moderate-intensity activity improve cardiorespiratory fitness .
At the present time , we surmise that no single group of employees ( e.g. older employees or less fit individuals ) can be definitively identified as st and ing to benefit more from workplace physical activity interventions than others .
This demonstrates the potential utility of workplace physical activity interventions for improving cardiorespiratory fitness in a broad range of healthy employees .
Background Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor of all-cause mortality .
Physical activity of at least moderate intensity can improve cardiorespiratory fitness .
Workplaces may provide a relatively controlled setting in which to improve cardiorespiratory fitness through physical activity .
Limited work has been conducted to quantify the impact of delivering physical activity in the workplace on cardiorespiratory fitness .
Objective The objective of this systematic review was to quantify the effects of workplace physical activity interventions on peak oxygen consumption ( VO2peak ) and explore study and participant characteristics as putative moderators .