I-STAND - Effects of a Sitting Reduction Intervention for Obese Older Adults with Chronic Illnesses

Abstract

Little is known about the impact of sedentary behavior reduction interventions on obese older adults who also have one or more chronic conditions. A mixed methods exploratory analysis was completed to examine the cardio-metabolic and psychologic health effects of a sedentary behavior intervention. Participants were obese older adults with depressed mood, pre-diabetes/diabetes or hypertension, who were a part of the I-STAND study at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. Linear regression models compared pre and post measures between intervention and control groups adjusting for baseline values. A post-hoc qualitative analysis assessed I-STAND participant interview data. There were 60 participants in the study population. In all three sub-groups, participants were primarily female and white. Significant mean reductions in sitting time were observed for intervention groups compared to controls in each sub-group. There was not strong evidence for health benefits with reductions in sitting time. Key qualitative themes included barriers to stand, perceived physical health improvements and perceptions of physical activity. Further research should examine whether sitting reduction can act as a facilitator to increased physical activity and benefit cardio-metabolic health and psychologic health.