Teleworking as the main risk factor for sedentary behavior: the COVISTRESS international study
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: If teleworking is already associated with prolonged sedentary behavior, the literature lacks an integrating model with all putative influencing variables, as well as a sufficient number of participants to explore extreme sitting behavior. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the influence of teleworking on sitting time, considering main sociodemographic, occupational and lifestyle factors. METHODS: The COVISTRESS study is an international observational study, using self-reported questionnaires (REDCap® software). We used linear and logistic multivariate model to assess the impact of telework on sitting time concomitantly with other sociodemographic, occupational, and lifestyle variables. RESULTS: 6,653 respondents were included. The mean sitting time was 5.6 ± 3.4h/day, with 15.2% of respondents sitting for >8-14h/day and 1.6% sitting >14 hours/day. Workers who teleworked 0%, 1-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-99%, and 100% respectively sat on average 4.9 ± 3.2h/day, 5.8 ± 3.2h/day, 6.4 ± 3.1h/day, 6.5 ± 3.8h/day, 7.6 ± 3.5h/day, and 9.1 ± 4.3h/day, and the prevalence of workers sitting >14h/day increased from 1.5%, 1.9%, 0.4%, 3.2%, 5.4% to 10.7%. Compared with workers who did not telework, the risk of sitting 8-14 h/day was multiplied by 1.9 (1.2 to 3.0) for people working 1-25% in telework, by 4.7 (2.2 to 9.7) for people working 26-50% in telework, by 4.3 (1.5 to 12.2) for people working 51-75% in telework, and by 9.2 (1.6 to 51.5) for people working >75% in telework; the risk of sitting ≥ 14h/day was multiplied by 5.8 (1.07 to 31.5) for people working 51-75% in telework and dramatically increased by 34.3 (3.71 to 317) for people working >75% in telework in multivariate model. CONCLUSION: Teleworking is the strongest risk factor for high sitting time, with a marked dose-response relation. While several other sociodemographic, occupational, and lifestyle factors showed association with sitting time in univariate model, many of these relationships weakened or disappeared in the multivariate models, except telework that remained the most consistent determinants of sedentary behavior when concomitantly put together with all other variables. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04538586.
Source: PLoS ONE
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Clermont Auvergne, Adaptations Métaboliques à l'Exercice en conditions Physiologiques et Pathologiques, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Clermont-Ferrand, Hong Kong Baptist University, University of Isfahan, Jan Kochanowski University, University of the West of Scotland, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Université Grenoble Alpes, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive
Language: English
Topic: Physical Activity and Health
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
Funders: University of Pennsylvania, Universitetet i Stavanger, University of the West of Scotland, Hong Kong Baptist University, Swinburne University of Technology, Università di Cagliari, Universität Wien, Hebei Normal University, King Abdulaziz University, Ningbo University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universitetet i Oslo, Université de Genève, National Taiwan University, University of Isfahan
OpenAlex ID: W7212168453