Daily Walking Activity among Male Office Workers in a Rural Town in Northern Japan

Abstract

To investigate the level of walking activity among residents of the Tohoku district in northern Japan, where no widespread public transport system has been developed, winter is severe. The participants were 50 town hall employees with an average age of 43.6Ϯ10.8 (SD) years. The walking activity of each participant was assessed using a pedometer for one week in summer and one week in winter. The participants' lifestyles, including their commuting methods, were assessed using a questionnaire. Forty-six participants (92%) usually commute to work by private car. The average numbers of steps/day on workdays and holidays were, in summer, 6,560Ϯ 2,600 and 7,016Ϯ4,679, respectively, and, in winter, 5,236Ϯ 2,253 and 4,770Ϯ3,039; these numbers were somewhat lower than those recorded in previous reports. We observed a significant reduction in walking during winter (Fϭ19.016, pϭ0.0001), but no significant differences between workdays and holidays (Fϭ0.001, pϭ0.966). A significant correlation between BMI and steps/day (rϭϪ0.420, pϽ0.01) was obtained on workdays in winter. The unexpectedly low level of these participants' physical activity, especially in winter, is probably due to the fact that most of them commute by private car, which is likely a cause of the high incidence of obesity in this district. In addition, a seasonal effect should also be considered when physical activity is assessed, especially in cold climates.

Activity of daily living on non-working and working days in Polish urban society

“…This result conflicts with the common belief that physical activity is more likely to be performed in leisure time than during working days. These results also differ from those of Mitsui et al [15] showing that office workers are more active on non-working days than on working days during summer, with an inverse pattern in the winter season. The authors suggest that the number of daily steps taken by participants in their study was not reduced on holidays, because they were not active on workdays, due to the fact that most of them were desk workers who commuted in private cars and some participants enjoyed walking or hiking on holiday [15].…”

Treadmill desks: A 1‐year prospective trial

“…We also noted that the impact of access to treadmill desks on daily physical activity occurred regardless of seasonal effect although season impacted baseline activity (Spring activity levels were greater than Fall). Seasonal variance in daily physical activity is known to occur (32); the observation that the intervention impacted employees working indoors, regardless of seasonality, is noteworthy. The interindividual consistency of daily activity we found to be intriguing.…”

Pedometer‐Determined Physical Activity and Body Composition in Chinese Working Adults

“…To date, most of the existing evidence on walking (referred to as pedometer‐determined PA) has been presented by researchers from Western countries and Japan. Findings revealed that pedometer‐determined PA is inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI) in Canadian adults (Chan, Spangler, Valcour, & Tudor‐Locke, 2003), African‐American middle‐aged women (Hornbuckle, Bassett, & Thompson, 2005), American middle‐aged women (Thompson et al, 2004), and Japanese adults (Mitsui, Barajima, Kanachi, & Shimaoka, 2010; Mitsui, Shimaoka, Tsuzuku, Kajioka, & Sakakibara, 2008). A weak to moderate relationship has been reported.…”