Importance of occupational physical activity on health studied in Oulu

Physical activity during working hours can account for most of the daily physical activity among working-aged adults, so it is important to understand the impact of workload on health to promote physical activity and health in the population.

It has been suggested that heavy occupational physical activity puts people at risk of cardiovascular disease. However, most previous studies have only focused on leisure-time physical activity or total daily activity and have not considered occupational physical activity or the whole day including sedentary behavior and sleep, and therefore little is known about the role of these activities in health.

The study population consists of Northern Finland birth cohorts 1966 and 1986, where the physical activity of more than 7000 working-aged adults has been measured by activity monitors.

"Our research data and methods are unique with such large dataset. The study provides important new information on the health effects of physical activity at work and in leisure time, which can be used to design interventions, especially for working-aged people at risk of lifestyle diseases," says Maisa Niemelä, PhD, Director of the study at the University of Oulu.

Under the new ACTIVE research programme, the Academy of Finland has awarded €420,000 funding to the DOACT study, which will use innovative statistical methods to investigate the individual roles of work and leisure-time physical activity and the risk of cardiovascular diseases and lifestyle-related cancers in midlife.

ACTIVE, the Academy Programme for sport science and physical activity, promotes the quality, renewal and impact of research on physical activity and sport. It generates new knowledge to promote physical activity by directing research funding towards high quality, innovative and multidisciplinary research.