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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–4Cite as

Non-exercise Behavior

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Synonyms

Non-exercise physical activity; Physical activity intensity

Definition

Movement behaviors accumulated throughout the day that are not undertaken as part of structured, purposeful MVPA and exercise. These behaviors comprise sedentary behavior (e.g., sitting) and light physical activity (e.g., lifestyle-embedded activities of daily living).

Description

Movement should be conceptualized as a continuum, ranging from almost no movement at all (e.g., sedentary behavior, ≤1.5 metabolic equivalents) through to light physical activity (e.g., incidental movement, lifestyle-embedded activities, 1.6–2.9 metabolic equivalents) to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, MVPA (e.g., running, playing sports, structured exercise, ≥3 metabolic equivalents) (Tremblay et al. 2010).

Evidence consistently demonstrates that MVPA has a key preventative role in risk and incidence of obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers (Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee 2018...

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References and Further Readings

  • 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, P. A. G. A. (2018). Physical activity guidelines advisory committee scientific report. Retrieved from Washington, DC.

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  • Biswas, A., Oh, P. I., Faulkner, G. E., Bajaj, R. R., Silver, M. A., Mitchell, M. S., & Alter, D. A. (2015). Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality, and hospitalization in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine, 162(2), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.7326/M14-1651.

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  • Biswas, A., Oh, P. I., Faulkner, G. E., Bonsignore, A., Pakosh, M. T., & Alter, D. A. (2018). The energy expenditure benefits of reallocating sedentary time with physical activity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Public Health, 40(2), 295–303. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdx062.

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  • Chastin, S. F. M., De Craemer, M., De Cocker, K., Powell, L., Van Cauwenberg, J., Dall, P., et al. (2019). How does light-intensity physical activity associate with adult cardiometabolic health and mortality? Systematic review with meta-analysis of experimental and observational studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(6), 370–376. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097563.

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  • Hamilton, M. T., Healy, G. N., Dunstan, D. W., Zderic, T. W., & Owen, N. (2008). Too little exercise and too much sitting: Inactivity physiology and the need for new recommendations on sedentary behavior. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports, 2(4), 292–298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-008-0054-8.

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  • Wullems, J. A., Verschueren, S. M., Degens, H., Morse, C. I., & Onambele, G. L. (2016). A review of the assessment and prevalence of sedentarism in older adults, its physiology/health impact and non-exercise mobility counter-measures. Biogerontology, 17(3), 547–565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-016-9640-1.

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  • Xu, C., Furuya-Kanamori, L., Liu, Y., Faerch, K., Aadahl, M., Seguin, R. A., et al. (2019). Sedentary behavior, physical activity, and all-cause mortality: Dose-response and intensity weighted time-use meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2019.05.001.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Sally A. M. Fenton

Authors
  1. Sally A. M. Fenton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sally A. M. Fenton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK

    Anna C. Whittaker

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Fenton, S.A.M. (2020). Non-exercise Behavior. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101909-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101909-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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