Sedentary behavior across different domains among adult women in the south of Brazil: a population based study

Abstract The aim of this study was to describe sedentary behavior (SB) across leisure, occupation, and transport domains and determine factors associated with excessive sedentary behavior (ESB). Cross-sectional survey with a representative sample of 1,126 women aged 20-69 years living in São Leopoldo/RS. SB, demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and health factors data were collected using a questionnaire administered by interviewers. The cut-off point for ESB was defined as the median. Associations were tested using Poisson regression with robust error variance. The medians and interquartile intervals (min/day) for leisure, occupation, and transport SB were 163.9(86.6-2710.5), 51.4(0-257.1), and 17.1(5.7-37.3), respectively. The likelihood of leisure SB increased with education level, was higher among women who were not employed, lived in household without children, and smokers. In other domains, there was an inverse association between age, being white, economic class, education level, and income and ESB. Direct association between living in a household with a car and excessive transport SB and women who were not employed were 30% less likely to engage in ESB in this domain. The predominant domain in Total SB was leisure. Associations differed across domains, indicating that domain-specific interventions should be implemented in addressing excessive SB.