Influences of Weather Conditions on Accelerator-Determined Physical Activity in Japanese Adults

Abstract

PURPOSE: Seasonality has been reported to affect physical activities of adults; however, the role of weather conditions remains unclear. This study aimed at evaluating whether accelerator-determined physical activity was affected by the weather conditions in autumn and winter. METHODS: This study population consisted of 88 community-dwelling men and women (69.1 ± 6.0 yr, 20 men and 68 women). All the participants were given an Active Style Pro HJA-350IT accelerator (Omron Healthcare Co. Ltd, Japan) for 6 months, from October to March. The participants were instructed to wear the accelerator on their waistline all day, except when bathing, showering, swimming, or sleeping. Access to data from the weather stations was provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency. Daily values of the highest and lowest temperatures (°C), rainfall (mm/day), maximum wind speed (m/s), and duration of daylight (h) were obtained from local meteorological stations. The data were classified into 4 categories: highest temperature, <9.5, 9.5-13.1, 13.1-18.3, and > 18.3°C; for lowest temperature, <0, 0-5, 5-10, and >10°C; for rain fall, <3, 3-10, 10-20, and >20 mm/day; for maximum wind speed, <3.4, 3.4-5.7, 5.7-7.9, and >7.9 m/s; and daylight, <1, 1-4, 4-7, and >7 h. RESULTS: Overall, the participants had a mean step count of 6444 ± 4044 steps/day. The step count in October and November was significantly higher than that in the others. The step counts on days when the rainfall was >3 mm/day, the highest temperature was <18.3°C, the maximum wind speed was >7.9 m/s, or daylight was <1 hour were significantly different from those on other days (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between the step counts and lowest temperature. CONCLUSIONS: The change in physical activity may be partly explained by not only seasonality but also daily weather conditions. Increasing opportunities for the field of physical activity during autumn and winter, when weather conditions are not very conducive, may mitigate the decline in physical activity.