Sedentary BehaviorNCT06183125
Reduce Sedentariness and Enhance Psychological Well-being of Office Workers With TCM-based Intervention
A study testing Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program in people with Sedentary Behavior, run by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of a TCM-based anti-sedentariness program on workplace sitting time, perceived stress, and cortisol in office workers.The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Sedentary Behavior
- What is being tested?
- Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 64 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 20 Mar 2024to 31 Dec 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Aged 18 or above with a full-time and office-based job
- Reported >5.5 hours of sitting per day at work
- Native Chinese speaker (Cantonese or Mandarin)
- Be able to give consent
Who cannot join
- Have severe or chronic illness and not suitable for physical exercise
- Be oversensitive to tactile stimulation
- Have regular practice of qigong, acupressure, or mindfulness-based activities during the 4 weeks prior to recruitment
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Reduce Sedentariness and Enhance Physical and Psychological Health of Office Workers With TCM-based Anti-sedentary Intervention: Efficacy and Potential Psychophysiological Mechanisms
The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of a TCM-based anti-sedentariness program on workplace sitting time, perceived stress, and cortisol in office workers.The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Can a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-based anti-sedentariness program effectively reduce workplace sitting time, perceived stress and cortisol levels among office workers?
- Whether such anti-sedentary effect works through stress management and enhances when holistic thinking is endorsed.
Read more
Participants will engage in a 4 week TCM-based program intervention including 2 weeks of health education and promotion activities (understanding sedentary behaviors, Baduanjin, acupressure, dantian breathing, and mindfulness) and 2 weeks of supported self-practice (daily reminders and tips, regular feedback on sitting time, and individual consultation).
Researchers will compare a group receiving a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-based intervention with a wait-list control group to determine the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing sitting time and enhancing physical and psychological health.
Read the detailed description
Introduction:
Sedentary behaviors and their associated physical and mental health risks among adults have received growing concerns among the clinical and research communities. Office workers commonly engage in sedentary behaviors due to their long stationary hours. Evidence has revealed that higher levels of sedentary behaviors were associated with higher perceived stress levels at workplace. However, scarce studies focused on the role of stress management in reducing sedentary behaviors. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-based body works (such as dantian breathing, qigong, and acupressure) are low-cost techniques and found to be primising in addressing stress and sedentary behaviors at workplace. The health benefits of TCM-based bodywork in sedentary office workers may be enhanced when the workers endorse holistic thinking.
The present research aims to test the effects of a TCM-based anti-sedentariness program on workplace sitting time, perceived stress, and cortisol in office workers. Investigators will also explore the psychophysiological mechanism whether such anti-sedentary effect works through stress management and enhances when holistic thinking is endorsed.
Methods:
A systematic review and meta-analysis has been conducted to synthesize the pooled effect of existing anti-sedentariness interventions on office workers' sitting time and compare the effectiveness of different intervention types in reducing sedentary behaviors relative to the control group. The systematic review and meta-analysis set the theoretical foundation of intervention elements for the reduction of sedentary behaviors at workplace and their psychological effects to be applied in the present study.
A randomized controlled trial will be conducted among 92 office workers with self-reported sitting time of 5.5 hours or longer per workday. Participants will be randomly assigned to intervention (TCM-based program) and wait-list control groups. The TCM-based program will last for 4 weeks, with 2 weeks of health education and promotion activities (understanding sedentary behaviors, Baduanjin, acupressure, dantian breathing, and mindfulness) and 2 weeks of supported self-practice (daily reminders and tips, regular feedback on sitting time, website support and individual consultation). Participants' sitting time per workday and perceived stress will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), and follow-up (6 weeks after baseline). During the 2-week self-practice, participants in the intervention group will complete a diary of self-practice duration of TCM-based bodywork, perceived stress, and collect saliva samples every two days. Repeated-measures ANOVA will be used to test the group differences in changes in sitting time and perceived stress. Mediating effects of perceived stress and cortisol and moderating effects of holistic thinking will be explored through SPSS marcos.
Significance:
The findings of this study will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of a TCM-based intervention in reducing sedentary behavior and improving psychological well-being. It is innovative to understand the psychophysiological mechanism of reducing sedentary behavior to explore tailored interventions to enhance the health quality of office workers. Given the easy practice and low cost of the TCM-based body works, the project can put forward a cost-effective intervention that can benefit a large population sustainably.
- Conditions
- Sedentary Behavior
- Being tested
- Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program
- Keywords
- sedentary behavior, office worker, Traditional Chinese Medicine, RCT, psychophysiological mechanism
- Medical subject headings
- Sedentary Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Traditional Chinese Medicine-based programBehavioural
Also called TCM-based program
Week1-2: one health talk session(60 mins); three workshops (each workshop will last for 60-90mins) to provide hands-on training in Baduanjin, acupressure techniques, mindful stretching, and effective strategies to combat sedentary behavior in the workplace.
Week 3-4: group practice sessions will take place for one hour every other day throughout the workweek; website support.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| TCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention group | Experimental | TCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention Receives: Behavioral: Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program |
| Wait-list control group | Other | After the completion of all evaluations, the intervention content will be administered to the experimental group in the same manner. Receives: Behavioral: Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
sedentary behavior- total sitting time/workday
measured by Actigraph wGT3X-BT
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
sedentary behavior- sitting time/9-h working time
measured by Actigraph wGT3X-BT
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Self-report sedentary behaviors
measured by International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ short version) with 8 items. Physical activity levels can be classified as low intensity when the weekly MET (metabolic equivalent of task) value is less than 600, moderate intensity when it ranges from 600 to 3000 MET, and high intensity when it exceeds 3000 MET per week.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
psychological stress
measured by perceived stress scale(PSS) with 10 items. Each item in the PSS questionnaire is rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Participants are asked to indicate the frequency with which they have experienced each event over the past month.The total score on the PSS can range from 0 to 40. Higher scores indicate a higher level of perceived stress.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
physiological stress
measured by salivary cortisol concentration(measured in ng/mL)
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Secondary outcomes (8)
Holistic thinking
measured by Analysis-Holism Scale (AHS), which consists of 24 items. Items are rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 7 (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). The total score on the AHS can range from 24 to 168. Higher scores indicate greater holistic cognitive style, and lower scores indicate greater analytic cognitive style.
Measured: Baseline
Health-related quality of life
measured by The Chinese (Hong Kong) SF-36 Health Survey. It consists of 36 questions that cover eight different domains: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health problems, bodily pain, general health perceptions, vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health. A higher score indicates better quality of life.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Sleep quality
measured by The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index consists of 19 individual items, with a total score of 21 and a higher score indicating poorer sleep quality.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Psychological distress
measured by Depression Anxiety Stress Scale(DASS).The DASS-21 consists of 21 items, with seven items dedicated to each of the three subscales: depression, anxiety, and stress. A higher score indicates more depression, anxiety and stress.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Self efficay
measured by The Chinese Self-Efficacy Scale. It consists of 10 items.The total score is calculated by finding the sum of the all items. For the GSE, the total score ranges between 10 and 40, with a higher score indicating more self-efficacy.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Blood pressures
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be measured by Omron blood pressure monitor.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Hand grip strength
measured by Jamar handheld dynamometer
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
IL-6
Collect saliva samples to assay IL-6 concentration by using enzyme-linked immunoassay according to the manufacturer's instruction.
Measured: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted27 Dec 2023
- Study start20 Mar 2024
- Primary completion30 Dec 2024
- Study completion31 Dec 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Sedentary BehaviorStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- A randomized controlled trial will be conducted among 64 office workers with self-reported sitting time of 5.5 hours or longer per workday. They will be randomly assigned to intervention (TCM-based program) and wait-list control groups.
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, TSANG Hector Wing-Hong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Investigators
- Hector Tsang, PhD, Principal investigator, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06183125
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- V2023
- Status last verified
- Jun 2025
- First submitted
- 13 Dec 2023
- Last updated
- 18 Jun 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 18 Jun 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Reduce Sedentariness and Enhance Physical and Psychological Health of Office Workers With TCM-based Anti-sedentary Intervention: Efficacy and Potential Psychophysiological Mechanisms
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06183125
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- V2023
- Conditions
- Sedentary Behavior
- Keywords
- sedentary behavior, office worker, Traditional Chinese Medicine, RCT, psychophysiological mechanism
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 20 Mar 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Dec 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 27 Dec 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of a TCM-based anti-sedentariness program on workplace sitting time, perceived stress, and cortisol in office workers.The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Can a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-based anti-sedentariness program effectively reduce workplace sitting time, perceived stress and cortisol levels among office workers?
- Whether such anti-sedentary effect works through stress management and enhances when holistic thinking is endorsed.
Participants will engage in a 4 week TCM-based program intervention including 2 weeks of health education and promotion activities (understanding sedentary behaviors, Baduanjin, acupressure, dantian breathing, and mindfulness) and 2 weeks of supported self-practice (daily reminders and tips, regular feedback on sitting time, and individual consultation).
Researchers will compare a group receiving a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-based intervention with a wait-list control group to determine the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing sitting time and enhancing physical and psychological health.
Detailed description
Introduction:
Sedentary behaviors and their associated physical and mental health risks among adults have received growing concerns among the clinical and research communities. Office workers commonly engage in sedentary behaviors due to their long stationary hours. Evidence has revealed that higher levels of sedentary behaviors were associated with higher perceived stress levels at workplace. However, scarce studies focused on the role of stress management in reducing sedentary behaviors. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-based body works (such as dantian breathing, qigong, and acupressure) are low-cost techniques and found to be primising in addressing stress and sedentary behaviors at workplace. The health benefits of TCM-based bodywork in sedentary office workers may be enhanced when the workers endorse holistic thinking.
The present research aims to test the effects of a TCM-based anti-sedentariness program on workplace sitting time, perceived stress, and cortisol in office workers. Investigators will also explore the psychophysiological mechanism whether such anti-sedentary effect works through stress management and enhances when holistic thinking is endorsed.
Methods:
A systematic review and meta-analysis has been conducted to synthesize the pooled effect of existing anti-sedentariness interventions on office workers' sitting time and compare the effectiveness of different intervention types in reducing sedentary behaviors relative to the control group. The systematic review and meta-analysis set the theoretical foundation of intervention elements for the reduction of sedentary behaviors at workplace and their psychological effects to be applied in the present study.
A randomized controlled trial will be conducted among 92 office workers with self-reported sitting time of 5.5 hours or longer per workday. Participants will be randomly assigned to intervention (TCM-based program) and wait-list control groups. The TCM-based program will last for 4 weeks, with 2 weeks of health education and promotion activities (understanding sedentary behaviors, Baduanjin, acupressure, dantian breathing, and mindfulness) and 2 weeks of supported self-practice (daily reminders and tips, regular feedback on sitting time, website support and individual consultation). Participants' sitting time per workday and perceived stress will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), and follow-up (6 weeks after baseline). During the 2-week self-practice, participants in the intervention group will complete a diary of self-practice duration of TCM-based bodywork, perceived stress, and collect saliva samples every two days. Repeated-measures ANOVA will be used to test the group differences in changes in sitting time and perceived stress. Mediating effects of perceived stress and cortisol and moderating effects of holistic thinking will be explored through SPSS marcos.
Significance:
The findings of this study will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of a TCM-based intervention in reducing sedentary behavior and improving psychological well-being. It is innovative to understand the psychophysiological mechanism of reducing sedentary behavior to explore tailored interventions to enhance the health quality of office workers. Given the easy practice and low cost of the TCM-based body works, the project can put forward a cost-effective intervention that can benefit a large population sustainably.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- A randomized controlled trial will be conducted among 64 office workers with self-reported sitting time of 5.5 hours or longer per workday. They will be randomly assigned to intervention (TCM-based program) and wait-list control groups.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| TCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention group | Experimental | Behavioral: Traditional Chinese Medicine-based programTCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention |
| Wait-list control group | Other | Behavioral: Traditional Chinese Medicine-based programAfter the completion of all evaluations, the intervention content will be administered to the experimental group in the same manner. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Aged 18 or above with a full-time and office-based job
- Reported >5.5 hours of sitting per day at work
- Native Chinese speaker (Cantonese or Mandarin)
- Be able to give consent
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Have severe or chronic illness and not suitable for physical exercise
- Be oversensitive to tactile stimulation
- Have regular practice of qigong, acupressure, or mindfulness-based activities during the 4 weeks prior to recruitment
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese Medicine-based programAlso: TCM-based programWeek1-2: one health talk session(60 mins); three workshops (each workshop will last for 60-90mins) to provide hands-on training in Baduanjin, acupressure techniques, mindful stretching, and effective strategies to combat sedentary behavior in the workplace. Week 3-4: group practice sessions will take place for one hour every other day throughout the workweek; website support. | Behavioural | TCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention group, Wait-list control group |
Primary outcome
sedentary behavior- total sitting time/workday
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
measured by Actigraph wGT3X-BT
sedentary behavior- sitting time/9-h working time
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
measured by Actigraph wGT3X-BT
Self-report sedentary behaviors
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
measured by International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ short version) with 8 items. Physical activity levels can be classified as low intensity when the weekly MET (metabolic equivalent of task) value is less than 600, moderate intensity when it ranges from 600 to 3000 MET, and high intensity when it exceeds 3000 MET per week.
psychological stress
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
measured by perceived stress scale(PSS) with 10 items. Each item in the PSS questionnaire is rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Participants are asked to indicate the frequency with which they have experienced each event over the past month.The total score on the PSS can range from 0 to 40. Higher scores indicate a higher level of perceived stress.
physiological stress
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
measured by salivary cortisol concentration(measured in ng/mL)
8 secondary outcomes
Holistic thinking
Time frame: Baseline
Health-related quality of life
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Sleep quality
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Psychological distress
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Self efficay
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Blood pressures
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Hand grip strength
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
IL-6
Time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 18 Jun 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Hector Tsang, PhD principal investigator
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program in people with Sedentary Behavior, run by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Jun 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
sedentary behavior- total sitting time/workday (time frame: Baseline, week 5, week 9). The study lists 5 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 18 Jun 2025.