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Introduction: Prolonged sitting is associated with several health risks such as cardiac diseases and type 2 diabetes. Despite growing awareness, current jobs and environments do not encourage reducing sitting time as a result of more digitalised and automated working conditions [1]. Addressing this issue is needed, and highlighting the short-term benefits of reducing sitting instead of long-term benefits may be effective in changing behaviour, since behaviour is more likely to be sustained if the reinforcement structure is more focussed on immediate benefits of the intervention rather that long-term and rational outcomes [2]. Therefore, a literature study was conducted addressing the short-term (health) effects of reducing sitting time and increasing interruptions and physical movement (at the workplace).

Methods: Literature was searched using Scopus. Inclusion criteria were reviews, short-term outcome measures and an adult population, excluding observational studies and those focusing on long-term effects. A second search targeted working adults specifically, excluding pilot studies and protocols. ASReview was used to sort and select relevant papers, followed by quality assessment and data extraction. Extracted short-term effects were categorised into five themes:

1. Physical health;
2. Brain, mental & cognition;
3. Business and organisational;
4. Food, habits & lifestyle; and
5. Physical (in)activity outcomes.

Results: Most interventions evaluated the effect of reduced sitting over one year. Literature suggests that multidimensional workplace interventions with a physical component and sit-stand desks are effective in increasing physical activity and reducing sitting time. The effect on biochemical variables, such as cholesterol, is inconsistent. Physical activity interventions positively affects weight-related outcomes, especially when combined with dietary components, and improve mental wellness, particularly work-related stress. No negative effects on productivity, work satisfaction, or sickness absence were found. Tailored interventions positively affect dietary habits, sleeping habits, and health consciousness.

Conclusion: Physical activity interventions, especially those including dietary components, effectively reduce and interrupt prolonged sitting, positively impacting short-term health outcomes such as work-stress and weight-related outcomes, without negatively affecting productivity. Further research is needed to examine short-term effects of reducing and interrupting prolonged sitting, to provide tailored advice to employers and employees.

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