Is Pedometer-Determined Physical Activity Decreasing in Czech Adults? Findings from 2008 to 2013

Abstract

Objective measured trend data are important for public health practice. However, these data are rare for an adult population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe time trends in pedometer-determined physical activity of Czech adults (25–65 years) from 2008 to 2013. Participants were Czech national citizens whose physical activity was assessed objectively using a Yamax Digiwalker SW-700 pedometer (Yamax Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) for seven consecutive days in the period 2008 to 2013. The final sample was 4647 Czech adults [M age 41.4 ± 10 years; M body mass index (BMI) 25.1 ± 3.7 kg/m2]. The results showed that men took more steps/day (M (Mean) = 10,014; 95% CI (Confidence Interval) = 9864–10,164) than women (M = 9448; 95% CI = 9322–9673) in all age and BMI groups. Mean steps/day declined from 2008 to 2013 by 852 steps/day in men and 1491 steps/day in women. In the whole sample, the proportion of participants who had a sedentary lifestyle (<5000 steps/day) increased by 5.8%; the proportion taking ≥10,000 steps/day decreased by 15.8%. In 2013, men and women were 2.67 and 2.05 times, respectively, more likely to have a physically inactive lifestyle (<7500 steps/day) than in 2008. Conversely, in 2008, men and women were 1.68 and 2.46 times, respectively, less likely to have very active lifestyle (>12,500 steps/day). In conclusion, this study suggests that there has been a substantial reduction in physical activity in Czech adults over time.

Associations of partnering transition and socioeconomic status with a four-year change in daily steps among Finnish adults

“…In this study women took more steps than men. This is in line with studies from Sweden, but in the USA [8] and the Czech Republic [13] men have been found to be more active than women. However, there may be a natural explanation in the longer steps (10%) of men.…”

“…Associations of partnering transition and socioeconomic status with a four-year change in daily steps among Finnish adults divorce PA decreased among men [12]. However, there are no objectively measured study results on PA changes over several years in Finland and only a few studies in other countries address the issue [7,13]. Measuring PA objectively is important for determining the health benefits of different amounts and intensity of PA [14].…”

Parent-Child Physical Activity Association in Families with 4- to 16-Year-Old Children

“…Physical activity (PA) is one of the main components of a healthy lifestyle [1]. In the Czech Republic, about one-third of adults have a physically inactive lifestyle [2,3]. Globally, an insufficient level of PA was found in 23.4% of adults in Central and Eastern Europe and 36.8% in high-income Western countries [4].…”

“What Is a Step?” Differences in How a Step Is Detected among Three Popular Activity Monitors That Have Impacted Physical Activity Research

“…The three devices were the mechanical Yamax Digiwalker SW200, the piezoelectric cantilever accelerometer-based Omron HJ720ITC, and MEMs capacitive sensor-based ActiGraph monitors. A reason for selecting these three devices was that unlike various consumer-based devices that are currently available, these three brands of devices have significantly influenced the creation of commonly used step goals (e.g., 10,000 steps/day) [ 13 , 14 , 15 ] and/or have been widely used in both population-level studies (e.g., NHANES) [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ] and in clinical trials [ 15 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. However, these devices also use unknown proprietary strategies to define a step.…”