This literature review focused on passenger seat comfort and discomfort in a human–product–context interaction. The relationships between anthropometric variables (human level), activities (context level), seat characteristics (product level) and the perception of comfort and discomfort were studied through mediating variables, such as body posture, movement and interface pressure. It is concluded that there are correlations between anthropometric variables and interface pressure variables, and that this relationship is affected by body posture. The results of studies on the correlation between pressure variables and passenger comfort and discomfort are not in line with each other. Only associations were found between the other variables (e.g. activities and seat characteristics). A conceptual model illustrates the results of the review, but relationships could not be quantified due to a lack of statistical evidence and large differences in research set-ups between the reviewed papers. Practitioner Summary: This literature review set out to quantify the relationships between human, context and seat characteristics, and comfort and discomfort experience of passenger seats, in order to build a predictive model that can support seat designers and purchasers to make informed decisions. However, statistical evidence is lacking from existing literature.

BACKGROUND: Working in an office environment is characterised by physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. This behaviour contributes to several health risks in the long run. Dynamic workstations which allow people to combine desk activities with

BACKGROUND : Discomfort increases when duration of sitting is longer. Aircraft passengers are subjected to prolonged sitting in restricted postures, which can cause discomfort. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between duration of sitting and de

Bubb, Bengler, Grünen, and Vollrath (2015) identified six environmental comfort factors and ordered them from most important to least important (smell, light, vibrations, sound, climate and anthropometry). This paper attempts to verify whether this suggested order of comfort-related factors also applies to the expectations of aircraft passengers. For this purpose, two studies were carried out. First, a survey was conducted among 183 aircraft passengers between 19 and 64 years old. In this survey, respondents were asked to rank six comfort factors by selecting the most important factor from 15 pairs of factors (e.g. light versus smell). The respondents indicated anthropometry as the most important factor, followed by noise, smell and climate. These were followed by the vibration factor and the light factor, which was considered the least important. However, respondents stated after the survey ,that the context of the factors was unclear, since the importance of each factor might depend on the in-flight activity performed. Moreover, the factors were insufficiently explained (e.g. it is not clear if climate refers to warm or cold air). Based on this, a second survey was conducted among 167 aircraft passengers who were between 19 and 61 years old. In this survey, the comfort factors were clarified and two activities were predefined. The results illustrate that different orders of comfort factors can be identified for different activities, however, according to respondents, the comfort of the seat is the most important factor for all activities. The indicated order of comfort factors could help aircraft interior manufacturers prioritize design efforts aimed at improved passenger comfort for intended in-flight activities.