BACKGROUND: Increasing levels of physical inactivity and sedentariness are contributing to the current @entity2973 and @entity28 epidemic. In this paper, the findings of two recent studies are used to explore the relationships between sitting time (in transport, work and leisure), physical activity and body mass index (BMI) in two contrasting samples of adult Australians. METHODS: Data on sitting time, physical activity, BMI and a number of demographic characteristics were compared for @entity1 in two studies-529 @entity1 who were @entity1 in a preschool health promotion project ('mothers'), and 185 @entity1 and @entity1 who were involved in a workplace pedometer study ('workers'). Relationships between age, number of @entity1 , physical activity, sitting time, BMI, gender and work patterns were explored. Logistic regression was used to predict the likelihood of being @entity2973 or @entity28 , among @entity1 with different physical activity, sitting time and work patterns. RESULTS: The total reported time spent sitting per day (across all domains) was almost 6 h less among the mothers than the workers (P<0.001), and compared with the mothers, a significantly greater proportion of the workers was classified as @entity2973 or @entity28 (BMI > or =25 kg/m(2)). Univariate analysis found that, compared with @entity1 in full-time work, @entity1 who worked full-time (OR=0.42, CI: 0.24-0.74), part-time (OR=0.35, CI: 0.20-0.59) or in full-time home duties (OR=0.51, CI: 0.29-0.88) were about half as likely to be @entity2973 or @entity28 . @entity1 who reported high daily levels of sitting (> or =7.4 h) were also significantly more likely than those who reported 'low' levels (<4.7 h/day) to be @entity2973 or @entity28 (OR=1.68, CI: 1.16-2.42). Multivariate analysis (including physical activity, work patterns and sitting time) confirmed that full-time and part-time working @entity1 (but not 'home duties' @entity1 ) were less likely to report BMI > or =25 kg/m(2) than full-time working @entity1 (full-time: OR=0.44, CI: 0.25-0.78; part-time: OR=0.45, CI: 0.24-0.86), but the OR for BMI > or =25 among those in the high sitting category was attenuated (OR=1.61, CI 0.96-2.71). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest a need for inclusion of measures of both activity and inactivity in future studies, so that the complex relationships between these behavioural determinants of BMI can be clarified.

Sitting time and work patterns as indicators of XXXX and @entity28 in Australian adults.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['participants', 'women', 'children', 'Participants', 'men'] @entity28 :: ('MESH:D009765', 'Disease') :: ['obese', 'obesity'] @entity2973 :: ('MESH:D050177', 'Disease') :: ['overweight']
@entity2973 :: (MESH:D050177,Disease) :: ['overweight']
