Background
The continued decrease in physical activity in the workplace is behind a
growing epidemic of chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome,
cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers [1, 2] and links are also
being made with mental-health issues such as stress, anxiety and
depression[3].
However workplace physical activity poses challenges concerning
equipment, space, levels of exertion and motivation. A new approach was
therefore conceived based on enjoyment and cognitive challenge with a
view to induce short bouts of regular activity by providing daily
two-minute videos demonstrating a new dance step to be learnt.
Indeed, we now know that short bursts of physical activity can have
significant effects on health, (reducing postprandial glucose and
insulin responses by 40% in overweight individuals[4]) and simply
breaking up sitting time makes a difference to health in unfit
individuals[5, 6]. This study investigated whether learning a daily
dance move could induce enough physical activity to affect well-being.