Reducing sedentary behaviour among older people

This chapter describes sedentarism and its measurement before examining aspects of the health consequences of prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour. The chapter uses references to the existing literature to demonstrate ways in which the health effects of sedentarism are independent of those of physical activity per se. The effectiveness of interventions in which sedentarism has been disrupted, which have similar but different physiologic responses to those observed in traditionally promoted physical activity, are also discussed. This emergent area of research, which has thus far been mainly applied to middle-aged persons, might be successfully used in conjunction with, or alongside, physical activity promotion interventions, provided clear recommendations on thresholds and potential benefits are included. Further research is needed, particularly in older persons, to achieve definitive guidelines.