Alexi Marmot

Active buildings: modelling physical activity and movement in office buildings. An observational study protocol

Introduction Health benefits of regular participation in physical activity are well documented but population levels are low. Office layout, and in particular the number and location of office building destinations (eg, print and meeting rooms), may influence both walking time and characteristics of sitting time. No research to date has focused on the role that the layout of the indoor office environment plays in facilitating or inhibiting step counts and characteristics of sitting time. The primary aim of this study was to investigate associations between office layout and physical activity, as well as sitting time using objective measures. Methods and analysis Active buildings is a unique collaboration between public health, built environment and computer science researchers. The study involves objective monitoring complemented by a larger questionnaire arm. UK office buildings will be selected based on a variety of features, including office floor area and number of occupants. Questionnaires will include items on standard demographics, well-being, physical activity behaviour and putative socioecological correlates of workplace physical activity. Based on survey responses, approximately 30 participants will be recruited from each building into the objective monitoring arm. Participants will wear accelerometers (to monitor physical activity and sitting inside and outside the office) and a novel tracking device will be placed in the office (to record participant location) for five consecutive days. Data will be analysed using regression analyses, as well as novel agent-based modelling techniques. Ethics and dissemination The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations. Ethical approval was obtained through the University College London Research Ethics Committee (Reference number 4400/001).

Historic Variations in Winter Indoor Domestic Temperatures and Potential Implications for Body Weight Gain

It has been argued that the amount of time spent by humans in thermoneutral environments has increased in recent decades. This paper examines evidence of historic changes in winter domestic temperatures in industrialised countries. Future trajectories for indoor thermal comfort are also explored. Whilst methodological differences across studies make it difficult to compare data and accurately estimate the absolute size of historic changes in indoor domestic temperatures, data analysis does suggest an upward trend, particularly in bedrooms. The variations in indoor winter residential temperatures might have been further exacerbated in some countries by a temporary drop in demand temperatures due to the 1970s energy crisis, as well as by recent changes in the building stock. In the United Kingdom, for example, spot measurement data indicate that an increase of up to 1.3°C per decade in mean dwelling winter indoor temperatures may have occurred from 1978 to 1996. The findings of this review paper are also discussed in the context of their significance for human health and well-being. In particular, historic indoor domestic temperature trends are discussed in conjunction with evidence on the links between low ambient temperatures, body energy expenditure and weight gain.

Indoor Tracking to Understand Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour: Exploratory Study in UK Office Buildings

Little is known of the patterns of physical activity, standing and sitting by office workers. However, insight into these behaviours is of growing interest, notably in regard to public health priorities to reduce non-communicable disease risk factors associated with high levels of sitting time and low levels of physical activity. With the advent and increasing availability of indoor tracking systems it is now becoming possible to build detailed pictures of the usage of indoor spaces. This paper reports initial results of indoor tracking used in conjunction with the ActivPAL activity monitoring device. In this paper we give an overview of the usage of the tracking system and its installation and illustrate some of the resultant data. We also provide preliminary results that investigate the relationship between location, light physical activity and sitting in a small sample of office workers (n=33) from two separate office environments in order to demonstrate the relevance and explanatory power of the technique.

Environments for successful interaction

Purpose – This paper aims to share recent research to inform the design and facility management community on how to design and operate offices that enhance interaction, creativity and ultimately innovation.Design/methodology/approach – A two‐year applied research project was conducted which involved a literature review followed by field studies. Surveys conducted in the offices of five diverse organisations piloted new methods for investigating interaction, termed WorkWareCONNECT.Findings – Key findings include: more meetings occur in office buildings with more meeting space; on average meeting rooms are used 37 per cent of the time; the quantity and quality of space is important but does not overcome organisational factors; much creative thought takes place alone.Research limitations/implications – Conducting fieldwork in the real world has its limitations. For example, only five organisations were surveyed and therefore the results may be considered by some not to be representative. However, the paper c...

A review of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour correlates

BACKGROUND Physical activity reduces the risk of morbidity and high sedentary time may be associated with negative health outcomes. The workplace offers an arena to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary time, but existing workplace-based interventions have typically yielded small effects. AIMS To collate the literature on correlates of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour and to inform future novel approaches to workplace-based intervention or policy. METHODS Systematic literature searches were conducted in December 2014 using multiple databases. Identified papers were screened against an inclusion criterion. Papers were deemed eligible for this review if they included occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour as an outcome, were quantitative observational studies and included an adult working population. Identified correlates of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour were organized into levels of the socioecological model. RESULTS Forty studies met the inclusion criterion. A higher number of studies included only occupational physical activity, not sedentary time, as an outcome and were carried out in the USA and Australia. The review identified that white-collar workers are at greater risk of low occupational physical activity and high sedentary time. The majority of correlates found to be associated with occupational physical activity and sedentary time were intrapersonal and non-modifiable. CONCLUSIONS Intervention efforts to increase occupational physical activity and reduce sedentary time may be most effective when targeted at white-collar workers. Research is needed to identify additional modifiable correlates of occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviour, in white-collar workers.

Flats Fit for Families: an Evaluation of Post Occupancy Evaluation.

POE (post-occupancy evaluation) of flats,∗ especially high rise flats, has frequently found them to be unsuitable for families with children. This paper critically analyses those findings and their role in shifting UK housing away from high flats. It is argued that POE has produced some equivocal results, due to methodological and theoretical difficulties. It is further argued that POE of high flats has been almost ignored by designers and played little part in the policy process by which high flats were abandoned. The paper concludes by outlining an enriched form of using POE together with other evaluation methods.

Sitting less, moving more: the indoor built environment as a tool for change

The health risks of physical inactivity are widely understood as evidence has accumulated, particularly in the medical, public health, sport and exercise science disciplines. Physical inactivity is estimated to cause more than 5 million premature deaths annually across the globe – 9% of all deaths – mainly from coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, depression and falling, making it a health hazard similar to that of smoking and obesity (Lee et al., 2012). Sedentary behaviour, particularly prolonged periods of sitting, has been found to be a health hazard independent of physical inactivity (e.g. Parry & Straker, 2013). ‘Sitting less and moving more’ summarizes guidance that has been emerging from organizations focused on public health such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2008), the World Health Organisation (WHO) (2010), and Public Health England, via Buckley et al. (2015). Campaigns and pressure groups have been forged, e.g. ‘Get Britain Standing’ and ‘Stand Up Victoria’ (Australia). Media reports headlined ‘sitting is the new smoking’, or similar, now appear with increasing regularity.

Indoor school environments, physical activity, sitting behaviour and pedagogy: a scoping review

Physical activity levels in children are low and sitting time high, despite the health benefits of regular physical activity and limited sitting. Children spend a large proportion of their time at school, hence school-based interventions targeting physical activity and sitting behaviour may be important. Whilst some aspects of school buildings, their layout and furniture may influence childrens physical activity and sitting, these effects could be intertwined with pedagogical approaches. This scoping review aims to identify gaps in the research literature regarding the influence of the indoor school environment on pedagogical approaches and on physical activity and sitting. In primary schools, it was found that physical activity can be integrated into lessons with some benefits on academic behaviour and possibly academic performance. Overall, however, the role of the indoor built environment is poorly investigated, although a handful of studies suggest that a radical change in primary school classrooms may increase physical activity and that stand-biased desks may be promising. This study provides a contribution to the emerging research fields of ‘active design’ from the perspective of indoor school design, highlighting a dearth of research, especially on sitting and for secondary education, and a lack of relevant conceptual frameworks.

Associations between the Objectively Measured Office Environment and Workplace Step Count and Sitting Time: Cross-Sectional Analyses from the Active Buildings Study

Office-based workers spend a large proportion of the day sitting and tend to have low overall activity levels. Despite some evidence that features of the external physical environment are associated with physical activity, little is known about the influence of the spatial layout of the internal environment on movement, and the majority of data use self-report. This study investigated associations between objectively-measured sitting time and activity levels and the spatial layout of office floors in a sample of UK office-based workers. Participants wore activPAL accelerometers for at least three consecutive workdays. Primary outcomes were steps and proportion of sitting time per working hour. Primary exposures were office spatial layout, which was objectively-measured by deriving key spatial variables: ‘distance from each workstation to key office destinations’, ‘distance from participant’s workstation to all other workstations’, ‘visibility of co-workers’, and workstation ‘closeness’. 131 participants from 10 organisations were included. Fifty-four per cent were female, 81% were white, and the majority had a managerial or professional role (72%) in their organisation. The average proportion of the working hour spent sitting was 0.7 (SD 0.15); participants took on average 444 (SD 210) steps per working hour. Models adjusted for confounders revealed significant negative associations between step count and distance from each workstation to all other office destinations (e.g., B = −4.66, 95% CI: −8.12, −1.12, p < 0.01) and nearest office destinations (e.g., B = −6.45, 95% CI: −11.88, −0.41, p < 0.05) and visibility of workstations when standing (B = −2.35, 95% CI: −3.53, −1.18, p < 0.001). The magnitude of these associations was small. There were no associations between spatial variables and sitting time per work hour. Contrary to our hypothesis, the further participants were from office destinations the less they walked, suggesting that changing the relative distance between workstations and other destinations on the same floor may not be the most fruitful target for promoting walking and reducing sitting in the workplace. However, reported effect sizes were very small and based on cross-sectional analyses. The approaches developed in this study could be applied to other office buildings to establish whether a specific office typology may yield more promising results.

The Good Office:Post Occupancy Evaluation of Office Buildings.

To illustrate the complexity of post‐occupancy evaluation of office buildings, details the 1991 IFM competition and the FT competition for Architecture at Work. Stresses the importance of research into and knowledge of building user needs to developers and financial institutions; property professionals; and government departments. Suggests that post‐occupancy evaluation is a technique that will be increasingly applied, and it will help the profession of facilities management to become more scientific.