American journal of preventive medicine
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Recent epidemiologic evidence points to the health risks of prolonged sitting, that are independent of physical activity, but few papers have reported the descriptive epidemiology of sitting in population studies with adults. ⋯ Median sitting time varied widely across countries. Assessing sitting time is an important new area for preventive medicine, in addition to assessing physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Population surveys that monitor lifestyle behaviors should add measures of sitting time to physical activity surveillance. Moreover, the use of objective measures to capture the spectrum of sedentary (sitting) and physical activity behaviors is encouraged, particularly in low- and middle-income countries commencing new surveillance activities.