“Re-engineering the Sedentary Worksite to Advance the Health of Sedentary Workers”

Lucas J. Carr, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

Department of Health and Human Physiology

March 6, 2015

Biosketch

Lucas Carr is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health & Human Physiology at the University of Iowa. He received his Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Wyoming and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine at The Miriam Hospital and Brown University.  His current research focuses on identifying sustainable approaches for promoting physical activity. He is particularly interested in approaches that modify microenvironments such as the work setting.

Abstract

The health and well-being of today’s working population is influenced by characteristics of the work environment which has become increasingly sedentary with the rise of labor saving technologies and the desktop computer. Sedentary jobs have risen 83% since 1950 and sedentary desk jobs now account for 43% of all U.S. jobs. Sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for multiple chronic diseases and has been associated with many deleterious physical and mental health outcomes. For these reasons, sedentary work tasks should be categorized as a hazardous exposure that significantly increases worker’s risk of adverse health outcomes and premature mortality. Traditional worksite wellness programs have taken a mainly behavioral approach to motivate employees to adopt healthy behaviors such as physical activity.  However, the hierarchy of hazard controls approach suggests a more effective and sustainable approach to mitigate hazardous exposures is to design the work environment in a manner that eliminates or substitutes the source of the exposure. This presentation will focus on a study which tested the efficacy of introducing an active workstation, which allows for light intensity lower leg movement during sedentary work tasks, for reducing occupational sedentary time and risk for sedentary-related cardiometabolic disease risk factors amongst a sample of overweight/obese adults working in full-time sedentary occupations.