Hygiena 2026, 71(1):9-13 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1911

Sedentary behavior levels of regional public health authority employees with different job responsibilities: a pilot study

Jana Loosová^{1, 2}, Lukáš Rubín^{3, 4}, Nela Jágrová¹, Kateřina Forysová¹, Štěpánka Slaninová³, Jan Dygrýn⁴

¹ Krajská hygienická stanice Libereckého kraje se sídlem v Liberci, Liberec, Česká republika

² Technická univerzita v Liberci, Fakulta zdravotnických studií, Liberec, Česká republika

³ Technická univerzita v Liberci, Fakulta přírodovědně-humanitní a pedagogická, Liberec, Česká republika

⁴ Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, Fakulta tělesné kultury, Olomouc, Česká republika

Objective: This pilot study aimed to assess sedentary behavior among employees of a regional public health authority with different types of work.

Methods: Research sample included 12 employees divided into three groups according to job type (A - office-based sedentary work, B - field workers, and C - technical staff). Participants underwent device-based monitoring using accelerometers. The pilot study included a questionnaire that assessed both sedentary behaviour as subjectively reported by the employee and their health status.

Results: The highest amount of sedentary time during working hours was observed in group A (506.8 ± 88.7 min), and the lowest in group B (425.5 ± 50.0 min). Sitting was the dominant posture in all groups compared to other postures (e.g., standing and walking). Most sedentary time occurred in uninterrupted bouts longer than 30 minutes.

Conclusion: The pilot study confirmed the predominance of sedentary behavior across all the employee types. The data obtained provide a basis for planning large‑scale research and support the integration of excessive sitting prevention into workplace policies and health promotion programs both within and beyond the organization.

Keywords: work load, prolonged sitting, questionnaire, accelerometer

Received: February 2026; Accepted: April 2026; Published: April 2026  Show citation