Individual and Environmental Factors Determining Sedentary Lifestyle of the Polish Population

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current investigation was to evaluate the sedentary lifestyle of the Polish population and its link with prolonged sitting in light of individual and environmental factors. METHODS: The sample consisted of 1505 Polish people between 18 and 64 years old. The Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) survey was conducted with the Polish version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-LF) and the survey of the determinants of a sport activity among the Polish population. The relationships between the time spent sitting and the individual and environmental factors among Polish citizens were investigated through log-linear analysis. RESULTS: The total time Polish people spent sitting was 2812.4±1593.9 min/week. During the weekend, men (Chi(2)=45.0; P=0.04) spent significantly more time sitting than women (251.1±170.1min/week, 230.9±155.0 min/week, respectively). Despite the relatively high proportion of people declaring participation in the Sport for All initiative (67.8%), only 9.6% of Polish people undertake a physical activity on a daily basis. The odds ratios above the median (>2545 min/week) are higher (OR=1.33; 95% CI=1.03—1.72) for those who are not physically active (54.5% vs. 45.5%). There was no relationship between prolonged sitting time and the environmental factors. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to increase consistent efforts to create an environment that would successfully promote anactive lifestyle among Polish citizens in their place of residence and prevent sedentary behaviours within this population. The recommendations for physical activity should include the guidelines intervening in the time people spend sitting.