Comparison of Active and Sedentary Bout Lengths in Normal and Overweight Adults using eMouverecherche

International audienceBackgroundPhysical inactivity and long sedentary time are common in obese people. The eMouveRecherche application was developed to provide accurate minute-by-minute classification of physical activity in light, moderate, vigorous intensity and sedentary bouts. The aim was to compare the frequency and length of bouts in Normal-Weight (NW) and Overweight (OW) adults.MethodsFifty-seven adult participants either normal weight or overweight wore a smartphone with the eMouve application for the entire waking period of the day. The continuous 1-5, 5-15, 15-30, 30-60 and higher than 60-minute bouts for each behavior were counted.ResultsThe total number of bouts was higher in NW than in OW (12.4 vs. 9.8 bouts.h-1, p < 0.001). The breakdown of immobile and active bouts according to their length was different in the two groups. The NW had a significantly higher percentage of brief immobile bouts (1-5 min) (65.2% vs. 49.7%), while OW had a significantly higher percentage of 5-15 min (26.8% vs. 19.1%) and 15-30 min sedentary bouts (11.8% vs. 8.0%). The 1-5 min bouts of light-intensity activity were statistically more frequent in OW (93.6% vs. 83.5%), whereas bouts of 5-15 min (15.1% vs. 6.4%) and 15-30 min bouts (1.3% vs. 0%) were more common in NW.ConclusionThe frequency of both immobile and light-intensity activity bouts was lower in OW, whereas the duration of bouts was respectively longer for immobile behavior and shorter for light-intensity activity, resulting in a continuous sedentary pattern with few active breaks. The overweight appears to be a barrier to the spontaneous practice of light-intensity physical activity