Assessment of the intraday variability of anthropometric measurements in the work environment: a pilot study

Abstract

Sitting for long periods of time, both during work and leisure times, is the typical behavior of the modern society. Especially at work, where there is not much flexibility, adopting the sitting posture for the entire day can cause some short-term and long-term effects. As workers’ productivity and well-being relies on working conditions, evaluating the effects caused by work postures assumes a very important role. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the variation of some anthropometric measurements during one typical workday to understand whether the known long-term effects can also be seen and quantified in an 8-h period. Twenty participants were measured before and after work, using traditional anthropometry equipment. The data from the two repetitions were compared using statistical tests. The results showed a slight variation in the anthropometric measurements, some with a tendency to increase over time and others with a tendency to decrease.

Keywords:

• sitting posture
• anthropometric variation
• work

ORCID

Sara Bragança http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4765-3856

Pedro Arezes http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9421-9123

Miguel Carvalho http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8010-6478

Susan P. Ashdown http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0276-4122

Celina Leão http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3725-5771