· · · Repository hosted by TU Delft Library

Prolonged sitting is a potential health risk, not only for people with an inactive lifestyle, but also for those who do meet the recommended amount of physical activity. In this paper, we present two waysto promote the reduction of sedentary behavior. First, we report onan experiment in which office workers (n = 40) received timely persuasive messages on their smartphones, advising them to take an active break whenever 30 minutes of almost uninterrupted computer activity was recorded. The messages resulted in a significant decrease in computer activity and a peak in physical activity, indicating that participants complied to the given advice and took short breaks upon receiving a message. Second, we developed SitCoach, a mobile application to nudge office workers from their seats. SitCoach monitors physical activity and sedentary behavior to provide timely feedback by means of suggested sitting breaks. The results of a user test showedthat the general awareness of the importance of sitting breaks is low. In addition, the ability to take sitting breaks was considered to be highly dependent on external factors. This suggests that raising awareness and increasing self-efficacy are important prerequisitesfor a successful intervention to reduce sedentary behavior.

Prolonged sitting time is a potential health risk, not only for people with an inactive lifestyle, but also for those who do meet the recommended amount of physical activity. In this paper, we evaluate SitCoach, a mobile application to nudge people from their seats. SitCoach monitors physical activity and sedentary behavior to provide timely feedback by means of suggesting sitting breaks. A pilot experiment with a group of 8 users learned that the general awareness of the importance of sitting breaks is low. Combined with the belief that the ability to take sitting breaks is highly dependent on externalfactors, a strategy of proposing break reminders may not be the most successful for this target group. Future work should focus on creating awareness of the problem and providing insights into personal sitting behavior.