Sitting, Standing, and Physical Activity in Australian Passenger Rail Drivers: On the Right Track for Better Health?

Background: Poor health in passenger rail drivers, resulting from perceived highly sedentary work and leisure time, has implications for public safety. To date, no studies have described the physical behaviors of passenger rail drivers. This study aimed to characterize the physical behaviors of passenger rail drivers by investigating the volume, pattern, variation, and composition of behaviors at and outside of work.

Methods: A convenience sample of 31 rail drivers (77% male, median age 51.0 [12.5] y) in South Australia wore an activity monitor on their right thigh for 8 days and completed a work logbook. Physical behaviors (sitting, standing, light-intensity physical activity, moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity [MVPA], and steps) were recorded for workdays and nonworkdays, and work and nonwork time on workdays. The volume, bouts, between-participants variation, and 3-way composition were compared across the 4 time periods.

Results: Drivers sat for 10.6 (1.5) hours, did 76.3 (38.8) minutes of MVPA, and took 9727.3 (4088.4) steps daily. At work, drivers were sitting 369.3 (41.8) minutes (187.1 [54.2] min in prolonged bouts) and doing MVPA 31.7 (10.0) minutes. Between-participants variation in sitting time during work (11%) was lower than both nonwork on a workday (19%) and on a nonworkday (24%; P < .001). Compositions at work differed from nonwork on workdays (F = 27.7, P < .001), as did compositions on workdays compared with nonworkdays (F = 6.8, P = .002).

Conclusions: Passenger rail drivers were highly sedentary, but also surprisingly active. At work, drivers were more sedentary and had lower variation in behaviors, suggesting work constraints play an important role. Therefore, work may be the most appropriate domain to intervene for promoting healthy physical behavior profiles among these passenger rail drivers.