Is Sitting the New Smoking? An Investigation of the Rewarding Value of Sedentary Behavior  and the Effects of Intentions and Effort Perception

Background: Excessive sedentary behavior (SB) is linked with increased risk for a variety of negative health consequences, and, thus, it is vital to focus on decreasing unhealthy sedentarism. Previous studies attempted to use motivational constructs to explain the attractiveness of SB and to find a way to reduce it. However, no research has explicitly investigated whether people evaluate SB as more rewarding compared to its behavioral alternative, standing. Objective/Method: Participants (N = 129) were given a smartphone game and were asked to play it for 10 minutes while maintaining a specific body posture, i.e., either standing or sitting. Subsequently, participants filled in the questionnaire that assessed the rewarding value of a smartphone game (liking and wanting), intentions to minimize SB, the perceived physical effort of standing, and general background information. The present study sought to explore whether engaging in a certain activity, such as playing a smartphone game...Show moreBackground: Excessive sedentary behavior (SB) is linked with increased risk for a variety of negative health consequences, and, thus, it is vital to focus on decreasing unhealthy sedentarism. Previous studies attempted to use motivational constructs to explain the attractiveness of SB and to find a way to reduce it. However, no research has explicitly investigated whether people evaluate SB as more rewarding compared to its behavioral alternative, standing. Objective/Method: Participants (N = 129) were given a smartphone game and were asked to play it for 10 minutes while maintaining a specific body posture, i.e., either standing or sitting. Subsequently, participants filled in the questionnaire that assessed the rewarding value of a smartphone game (liking and wanting), intentions to minimize SB, the perceived physical effort of standing, and general background information. The present study sought to explore whether engaging in a certain activity, such as playing a smartphone game, while being sedentary would be more rewarding for participants (higher liking and wanting) compared to doing the same activity while standing. Additionally, a plausible influence of two moderators, i.e., intentions to minimize SB and the perceived physical effort of standing, on the effect of body posture (sitting vs. standing) on liking/wanting an activity was investigated. Results: Participants reported higher liking for the game in the sit condition in comparison with participants in the stand condition, a small to medium effect size, p = .009. Moreover, participants in the sit condition indicated higher wanting for the game compared to participants in the stand condition, a small to medium effect size, p = .043. Intentions to minimize SB and the perceived physical effort of standing did not significantly moderate the relationship between body posture and liking/wanting to play the game. Conclusion: Participants liked and wanted the game more in the sit condition, meaning that engaging in an activity while being sedentary appears to be more rewarding than while standing. Thus, to decrease SB, it is crucial to increase the rewarding value of standing (or other physical activity) by making it more pleasurable and enjoyable. Additionally, it seems that intentions to minimize SB do not have an effect on the attractiveness of SB. Hence, intervention designers, clinicians, and researchers whose aim is to reduce SB are advised to consider strategies that serve as bridges between intentions and actual behavior rather than focusing exclusively on intentions.Show less

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Is Sitting the New Smoking? An Investigation of the Rewarding Value of Sedentary Behavior and the Effects of Intentions and Effort Perception