Cardiometabolic Effects of a Workplace Cycling Intervention

Background
In laboratory settings, cycling workstations improve cardiometabolic risk factors. Our purpose was to quantify risk factors following a cycling intervention in the workplace.

Methods
Twenty-one office workers who sat at work ≥6 hours per day underwent baseline physiological measurements (resting blood pressure, blood lipid profile, maximum oxygen consumption [V˙O2max], body composition, and 2-h oral glucose tolerance test). Participants were randomly assigned to a 4-week intervention only group (n = 12) or a delayed intervention group (n = 9) that involved a 4-week control condition before beginning the intervention. During the intervention, participants were instructed to use the cycling device a minimum of 15 minutes per hour, which would result in a total use of ≥2 hours per day during the workday. Following the intervention, physiological measurements were repeated.

Results
Participants averaged 1.77 (0.48) hours per day of cycling during the intervention with no changes in actigraphy-monitored noncycling physical activity. Four weeks of the workplace intervention increased V˙O2max (2.07 [0.44] to 2.17 [0.44] L·min−1, P < .01); end of V˙O2max test power output (166.3 [42.2] to 176.6 [46.1] W, P < .01); and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.09 [0.17] to 1.17 [0.24] mmol·L−1, P = .04).

Conclusions
A stationary cycling device incorporated into a sedentary workplace for 4 weeks improves some cardiometabolic risk factors with no compensatory decrease in noncycling physical activity.