Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Bariatric Patients Long-Term Post-Surgery

• Published in: Obesity surgery Vol. 25; no. 6; pp. 1073 - 1077
• Main Authors: Reid, Ryan E. R., Carver, Tamara E., Andersen, Kathleen M., Court, Olivier, Andersen, Ross E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accelerometry; Adult; Bariatric Surgery; Body Weight - physiology; Exercise; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gastrointestinal surgery; Health behavior; Humans; Long term; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Motor Activity - physiology; New Concept; Obesity; Obesity - physiopathology; Obesity - surgery; Postoperative Period; Sedentary behavior; Sedentary Lifestyle; Surgery; Sedentary behavior; Obesity; Long-term follow-up; Physical activity; Activity monitoring; Bariatric surgery
• ISSN: 0960-8923; 1708-0428
• DOI: 10.1007/s11695-015-1624-8

Background To measure sedentary behaviors and physical activity using accelerometry in participants who have undergone bariatric surgery 8.87 ± 3.78 years earlier and to compare these results with established guidelines. Methods Participants’ weight and height were measured, an ActivPAL™3 accelerometer and sleeping journal were used to determine day sedentary time, transitions from sitting to standing, as well as steps/day, and participants were asked to indicate if they felt that they were currently less, the same, or more active than before surgery. Results Participants averaged 48 ± 15 transitions/day, 6375 ± 2690 steps/day, and 9.7 ± 2.3 h/day in sedentary positions. There was a negative correlation between steps/day and sedentary time ( r  = −.466, p  ≤ .001), 11.27 % of participants achieved 10,000 steps/day. Participants who reported being more active prior to surgery averaged 6323.4 ± 2634.79 steps/day, which was not different from the other two groups of self-perceived change in level of physical activity ( F (2, 68) = .941, p  ≤ .05) from pre- to post-surgery. Conclusions Participants were inadequately active and overly sedentary compared to established guidelines and norms. Healthcare workers should be taking physical activity and sedentary time into account when creating post-surgical guidelines for this population to ensure the best long-term weight loss maintenance and health outcomes.