Brief Program in Reducing Sedentary Behavior and Promoting Physical Exercise
Condition: Physical Activity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Lack of physical activity was found to be a local and worldwide issue. Most Hong Kong people
      are having sedentary lifestyle. Researchers show that the increase of physical activity
      reduces the risk of chronic diseases, and improve cardio-pulmonary functions; whereas
      sedentary behaviors increase the risks.

      For many people, the targets of the WHO physical activity guidelines are too high to be
      achieved. Some people are not even willing to try, despite the evidence for the protective
      benefits to their long term health. In response, a recent focus has been placed upon
      reduction of sedentary behavior. Sedentary behavior is defined as 'those activities that do
      not increase energy expenditure substantially above the resting level, such as sitting, lying
      down, or viewing TV, or simply as "too much sitting". The primary determinants of sedentary
      behavior are behavioral and context-based, such as TV and screen-focused behaviors in home
      and work environments, sitting at work, and sitting during transport. The public health
      leaders have called for reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors as a possible public
      health priority. This study will focus on reduction of sedentary behavior and increasing
      physical activity in daily life. We hypothesize that the training programs would promote the
      health awareness of the participants.
    

Detailed description: 
      Physical activity is believed to contribute to physical and mental health, as well as social
      well-being. World Health organization (WHO) proposed that tobacco use, alcohol abuse, poor
      diets and physical inactivity are the common risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD)
      (WHO, 2014). The health benefits of regular physical activity (PA) are well established,
      including positive associations with psychological well-being and an inverse relationship
      with various illnesses.

      Lack of physical activity was found to be a local and worldwide issue and most Hong Kong
      people are having a sedentary lifestyle. Studies show that the increase of physical activity
      reduces the risk of chronic diseases, and improve cardio-pulmonary functions; whereas
      sedentary behaviors increase the risks. In response, a recent focus has been placed upon
      reduction of sedentary behavior. The primary determinants of sedentary behavior are
      behavioral and context-based, such as TV and screen-focused behaviors in home and work
      environments, sitting at work, and sitting during transport. As a result, public health
      leaders have called for reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors as a possible public
      health priority.

      This study will focus on reduction of sedentary behavior and increasing physical activity in
      daily life. The intervention will promote activities that can be done without using extra
      time (Zero-time exercise). These exercises will encourage participants to use larger muscle
      groups than they would simply sitting or standing, but are designed to be done by all ages
      and all fitness levels. For example, while standing, participants will be encouraged to
      balance on one leg, which will engage stomach and leg muscles. There is evidence that these
      types of movements create cardiovascular and skeletal muscle changes.

      The intervention is a 15- to 20- minute interactive session program, which aims to reduce
      participants' sedentary behavior and increase physical activity by increasing their
      motivation, self-efficacy and knowledge of different types of easy movements (Zero-time
      exercises). We hypothesize that the training programs would promote the health awareness of
      the participants.

      The primary objective is to promote the health awareness on reducing sedentary behavior
      and/or increasing physical exercise. The secondary objectives are to enhance intention and
      confidence of participants to encourage their family members to reduce sedentary and/or
      increasing physical exercise.
    

Intervention name(s): Physical Activity
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): A brief education program in reducing sedentary behavior and promoting physical exercise with family would be conducted. Assessments will be conducted in two different time points, before training session (T1), immediately following training (T2) and two weeks after training (T3) to evaluate the effectiveness of training program.
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: physical activity; family well being,; health