Socio-demographic factors associated with three sedentary behaviors in Brazilian workers

This study focused on the association between socio-demographic characteristics and three sedentary behaviors among industrial workers in Brazil. Data were analyzed on 47,477 workers from 24 Brazilian states, collected by questionnaires from 2006 to 2008. Individual and simultaneous presence of >= 4 hours of TV time per day, commuting by car or motorcycle, and sitting most of the time at work were investigated, as well as associations between these behaviors and gender, age, schooling, and family income. Simple and multiple binary logistic regression were used. Older workers and those with more schooling and higher income had increased odds of presenting two or all of the three target behaviors. Associations between gender and sedentary behaviors depend on the specific behavior. Such information can be useful for planning interventions to reduce sedentary behavior, with better targeting and more effectiveness in reaching different population subgroups.