Who is a young person who would accept walking only up to 10 minutes distance? : a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Research in Exercise Epidemiology Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 31 - 41
• Main Authors: Kamiya, Yoshito, Kyan, Akira, Takakura, Minoru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Association of Exercise Epidemiology 30.06.2023
• Subjects: acceptable walking distance; acceptable walking time; active travel; university students; within walking distance
• ISSN: 1347-5827; 2434-2017
• DOI: 10.24804/ree.2209

Objective: The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of university students who would accept walking for only up to 10 minutes distance.Methods: An anonymous web-based survey was conducted among 1,476 students at five universities in Okinawa Prefecture from November to December 2021, and 462 students responded (response rate: 31.3%). Data were collected for acceptable walking time (AWT), which is the distance (minutes) that people would accept walking to the destination, sex, university, grade, hometown, current residence, body mass index, driving license, transportation to and from school, and the exercise stage of change. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios for each explanatory variable against AWT less than 10 minutes (equivalent to within walking distance).Results: Odds ratios for AWT less than 10 minutes were associated with 2.27 (95%CI: 1.41–3.65) for male, 1.88 (95%CI: 1.00–3.52) for normal weight against underweight, 2.79 (95%CI: 1.44–5.40) for those with a driving license, and 2.96 (95%CI: 1.86–4.69) for sedentary travelers.Conclusion: The characteristics of university students who would accept walking for only up to 10 minutes distance were male, those who were of normal weight against underweight, those with a driving license, and sedentary travelers. The results suggested sedentary travel by car or motorcycle was associated with acceptable walking distance.