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ADULT SEDENTARY BEHAVIOUR IN NON-REMOTE AREAS Increasing evidence suggests that time spent sitting or lying down increases risk of negative health outcomes, regardless of levels of physical activity. Too much sedentary time has been found to be associated with overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer, as well as other adverse health outcomes1.
In 2012-13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in non-remote areas spent an average of 5.3 hours per day on sedentary behaviour. This included 2.2 hours of watching television or videos, 0.8 hours (50 minutes) of sitting at work and 0.6 hours (36 minutes) of sitting for transport. Men and women did not significantly differ in their total time spent on sedentary behaviour for leisure and work. However, they did differ in the kinds of sedentary behaviour they spent time on. Men spent more than twice as much time playing electronic games (2.2 compared with 0.8 hours per week) and also sat at work for longer (7.1 compared with 4.5 hours per week). Women, on the other hand, spent twice as much time using a phone (3.2 compared with 1.6 hours per week).
Footnote(s): (a) In non-remote areas (b) In the 7 days prior to interview Source(s): Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Physical Activity, 2012-13 After adjusting for differences in age structure between the populations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults spent less time on sedentary behaviour, including work, than non-Indigenous adults (ratio of averages 0.9). At the same time, sedentary time for leisure, excluding work, was similar between the populations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults spent less time sitting for transport (ratio of averages 0.8), and using a computer or the internet (ratio of averages 0.6), however more time watching television, DVDs and videos (ratio of averages 1.3), playing electronic games (ratio of averages 1.6) and using phones (ratio of averages 1.8). For more information, see Tables 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 on the Downloads page of this publication. Endnote(s): 1 Giles-Corti B, Koohsari MJ, Owen N, Salmon J, Turrell G 2014. Sedentary behaviour and health: mapping environmental and social contexts to underpin chronic disease prevention. British journal of sports medicine 48: 174-177 <http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/3/174>
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