Increase In Walking Time Research Articles

Sublethal Effects of Chlorantraniliprole on the Mobility Patterns of Sitophilus spp.: Implications for Pest Management.

Chlorantraniliprole, an anthranilic diamide insecticide, has emerged as a promising solution for controlling agricultural pests because of its low mammalian toxicity and selectivity towards non-target organisms. This study investigated the sublethal effects of chlorantraniliprole on the mobility behavior of two significant stored-product pests, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Contact toxicity assays revealed varying susceptibility levels between the two species, with S. zeamais showing higher sensitivity. Subsequent analysis of mobility behavior, both in the presence and absence of food, indicated significant differences between chlorantraniliprole-exposed and control groups. While S. oryzae exhibited altered locomotion patterns and a decreased number of food approaches at sublethal concentrations, S. zeamais displayed increased walking time and reduced immobility periods. These findings highlight the importance of considering sublethal effects in understanding the overall impact of chlorantraniliprole on stored-product pests. Further research into the long-term consequences of sublethal exposure is warranted to inform more effective pest management strategies in storage.

Superblock Design and Evaluation by a Microscopic Door-to-Door Simulation Approach

The present study contributes to narrowing down the research gap in modeling individual door-to-door trips in a superblock scenario and in evaluating the respective impacts in terms of travel times, modal shifts, traffic performance, and environmental benefits. The methods used are a multiple-criteria approach to identify the superblocks and a large-scale, multi-model, activity-based microscopic simulation. These methods were applied to the city of Bologna, Italy, where 49 feasible superblocks were identified. A previous large-scale microscopic traffic model of Bologna is leveraged to build a baseline scenario. A superblock scenario is then created to model five proposed traffic intervention measures. Several mobility benefit indicators at both citywide and superblock levels are compared. The simulation results indicate a significant increase in walking time for car drivers, while the average waiting time of bus users decreases due to the increased frequency of bus services. This leads to a noticeable car-to-bus shift. In addition, absolute traffic volumes and traffic-related emissions decreased significantly. Surprisingly, traffic volumes on the roads around the superblocks did not increase as expected. In general, this research provides scientists and urban and transport planners with insights into how changes in door-to-door travel times of multi-modal trips can impact individual travel behavior and traffic performance at a citywide level. However, the study still has limitations in modeling the long-term effects regarding changing activity locations within the superblocks.

Health and economic impact assessment of active travel modes in Tehran megacity

Health and economic benefits of active travel modes were investigated compared to air pollution and crash risk in Tehran, the capital of Iran using Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) developed by World Health Organization (WHO). By increasing walking time duration to the range of 10–30 min from 5 and population proportion to 16.2% from 8.5%, the mortality rate would decrease to ∼112–108 from 113 and ∼735–654 from 764 in the age groups of 20–44 and 45–74 respectively. Similarly, in the cycling mode, increasing the time duration to 15–40 min from 10 and population proportion to 1.2% from 0.9%, would lead to increasing prevented premature deaths. Moreover, results of increasing PM2.5 concentration within the time range of present study showed that the benefits of physical activity outweighed the risks caused by air pollution and crash fatality. So promoting active transportation modes has significant health and economic benefits, especially for older adults.

Association of physical activity intensity with cardiovascular disease and mortality in high-income, middle-income and low-income countries: the PURE study

Abstract Background The WHO recommends adults get 150-300 minutes of moderate physical activity (MPA) and/or 75-150 minutes of vigorous physical activity (VPA) per week. Few studies have investigated the independent benefits of PA intensity. Those that have, have found VPA to be protective, while others found excessive VPA to be harmful. These studies have primarily been conducted in high-income countries using recreational PA as the exposure of interest. Purpose To evaluate the effects of activity intensity (walking, MPA and VPA) with all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in countries at different economic levels. Methods Participants (35-70 years) were recruited from 21 countries at various stages of economic development. Within each country, urban and rural areas in and around selected cities and towns were identified to reflect the geographical diversity. Physical activity (total, walking, MPA, VPA, as well as recreational vs. non-recreational PA) was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Primary outcomes were mortality plus major CVD (CVD mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure), either as a composite or separately. After excluding those with baseline CVD, cancer and HIV, a total of 136,766 participants who had complete data were analyzed. Models were adjusted for age, sex, urban or rural residency, country income level, education, household wealth index, smoking, baseline chronic diseases, physical impairments and center as a random effect. All models were mutually adjusted for PA intensity. Results During the median follow-up of 11.5 (8.6-12.4) years, there were 9846 deaths and 7900 major cardiovascular events. The mean min/wk for walking, MPA and VPA were 339±539, 640±825 and 103±390, respectively. Increasing walking time had a U-shaped relationship with the composite outcome, such that walking between 300-1200 min/wk had the lowest risk, whereas walking at this amount and ≥1200 min/wk was associated with the lowest risk for mortality (p<0.001 for trend). Both MPA and VPA were linearly associated with the composite outcome and mortality even at levels below the recommended guidelines and up to ≥1800 min/wk (p<0.001 for trend). At each PA category, the hazard ratio for VPA was lower than MPA, such that at ≥1800 min/wk it was 0.64 (0.50,0.81) and 0.70 (0.57,0.85), for VPA and MPA, respectively, for the composite outcome. When VPA was stratified into either recreational or non-recreational VPA, recreational VPA displayed a U-shape relationship, whereas increasing non-recreational VPA continued to confer reduced risk even ≥3000 min/wk (Figure). Conclusion For both MPA and VPA, the benefits began at very low levels of PA and continued to increase with increasing PA. At each amount of PA, the lowest risk was in those participating in VPA. We did not observe any harmful effects of VPA, even at extremely high levels. However, at higher recreational VPA, the benefits began to diminish.

Frailty in rheumatoid arthritis: prevalence, fenotype signs and associated factors

The aim – to establish the frequency of frailty and the ratio of its main phenotypic features in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as to identify associated factors. Material and methods. The study included 101 patients (86 women and 15 men) with RA at the age of 60 [52; 66] years; the average duration of the disease – 8 [3; 15] years. Frailty syndrome was diagnosed by the phenotypic model of L.P. Fried et al. In addition, the strength of the quadriceps femoris muscle was assessed using the test of getting up from a chair, functional status according to HAQ-DI (Health Assessment Questionnaire – Disability Index); Charlson comorbidity index, presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD); dementia severity and nutritional status. Factors associated with frailty were identified by the principal component method with the rotation of the correlation matrix using the Varimax raw method. Results. Frailty syndrome was detected in 40.6%, prefrailty in 55.4% of patients with RA, robust patients were 4.0%. The dominant signs of frailty in RA patients are reduced hand strength, fatigue, and weight loss. Four clusters of factors associated with frailty syndrome in RA have been identified: reduced hand strength, HAQ-DI impairment, and RA activity; reduced survival, comorbid cardiovascular disease and age; the total dose of glucocorticoids (GC) taken, an increase in walking time by 4 m and hypodynamia; eating disorders. Conclusion. Frailty and prefrailty dominate in patients with RA and have certain phenotypic features. Factors associated with frailty and it’s diagnostic features include impairment of vital activity, RA activity; premature mortality, CVD comorbidity, older age; taking GCS and malnutrition.

Lifestyle changes during the economic crisis: a Sri Lankans survey

Abstract Aim The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has caused millions of people to descend into poverty, compromising their rights to health, education and standard of living. This study aimed to examine how the economic crisis has affected Sri Lankans’ lifestyles. Subject and methods An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in July 2022, using an e-questionnaire based on Google Forms. The questionnaire assessed respondents’ socio-demographics and lifestyle-related behaviours before and during the economic crisis. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used. Results A total of 1214 respondents, aged ≥ 18 years were included in this survey. During the crisis, there was a nearly 80% and 60% decline in alcohol consumption and smoking, respectively. Although many respondents (57.6%) used private vehicles as their primary mode of transportation before the crisis, this has decreased significantly (18.2%) during the crisis. Furthermore, 65.3% reported that their walking time has increased during this time. Respondents who lived in Colombo were significantly more likely to report increased walking time compared to people from other districts (OR 1.540; 95% CI, 1.081–2.193; P = 0.017). Also, those with the lowest monthly incomes reported a twofold increase in walking time during the crisis as those with the highest monthly incomes (OR = 2.224, 95% CI = 1.329–3.723, P = 0.002). Cooking methods used before and after the economic crisis differ significantly, with many respondents relying on gas (pre 92.8%; post 15.5%) as their primary cooking fuel before the crisis and now moving to firewood (pre 3.7%; post 46.5%). More than two-thirds (75.2%) of respondents were thinking of migrating to another country alone or with their families because of the country’s current situation. Conclusion The everyday activities of Sri Lankans have been significantly affected by the country’s economic crisis.

Waiting for signalized crossing or walking to footbridge/underpass? Examining the effect of weather using stated choice experiment with panel mixed random regret minimization approach

It is a challenging task for pedestrians to cross a road with multiple traffic lanes and busy traffic. Many footbridges and underpasses have been built in the urban area of metropolitan cities such as Hong Kong to resolve the problem of vehicle-pedestrian conflict. To maximize the utilization and benefit of the installation of such crossing facilities, it is crucial to understand the choice behaviour of pedestrians. Although many studies have examined pedestrian walking behaviour and preference towards crossing facilities, the influence of ratio of perceived values between waiting and walking time on the choice of crossing is not explored. In addition, individual perception and choice may vary with the environmental conditions, which has not been fully accounted for in existing studies. Exposure to extremely hot weather, crowded walkways, and roadside traffic emissions are not favoured. In this study, a stated choice experiment is developed to examine the relationship between possible influencing factors and the crossing choices of pedestrians in Hong Kong. In addition, a regret-based panel mixed multinomial logit approach is adopted to model the choice, accounting for the effects of unobserved heterogeneity and panel data. The results indicate that the choice decision of pedestrians is more sensitive to an increase in waiting time at signalized crossings than to an increase in walking time to access footbridges and underpasses. These findings shed light on future urban and transport planning strategies to improve the walking environment and promote walkability.

Changes in the neighborhood food environment and walking time among older adults: A longitudinal Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) between 2016 and 2019

Objective Maintaining or increasing walking provides several health benefits to older adults. However, the mid-term evaluation of Health Japan 21 [second term] showed that older adults' daily steps did not meet the goal. Therefore, this study emphasized primordial prevention, which is different from previous preventive approaches and focuses on the relationship between the built environment and physical activities, including daily steps. This study investigated the relationship between changes in the number of food stores and walking time.Methods This longitudinal study utilized the self-administered mail survey data between 2016 and 2019 from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). Older adults aged ≥65 years and residing in 27 independent municipalities were recruited. The dependent variable was a change in the walking time at two-time points (increase or not). Our explanatory variable was the change in the number of food stores at two-time points, reported on a 5-point scale, including no store (reference), increased stores, store available, decreased stores, and I don't know. Equivalently, it was defined as the self-reported change in the number of food stores (stores that sell meats, fish, fruits, and vegetables) within the walking distance of participants' homes (within ～1 km) from 2016 to 2019. The covariates included demographic factors, health behavior factors, environmental factors, and health factors in 2016. We used Poisson regression analysis (5% significance level) to calculate the cumulative incidence rate ratio (CIRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for an increase in walking time compared to no increase in walking time. The multivariate normal imputation method supplemented missing data of the dependent variable, explanatory variable, and covariates. Additionally, respondents' answer of "other" for the covariates was supplemented.Results Three years later, 13,400 (20.4%) respondents had increased their walking time. Older adults who reported increased number of stores (5,311, 8.1%) had more walking time than those who reported no stores (6,577, 10.0%) (CIRR=1.12; 95% CI: 1.03-1.21).Conclusion Participants who reported an increase in the number of fresh food stores within the walking distance had 12% more walking time three years later. A built environment might be used to measure primordial prevention that increases the amount of walking in daily life. Our results may provide evidence for policymakers and stakeholders to consider healthy urban planning.

Analyzing national parks visitor activities using geotagged social media photos

Visitor activities within national parks are important information for park management. Currently, national parks and nature-based recreation area worldwide have no systematic visitor activity data collection schemes. Traditional visitor movement or activity data collection methods used in tourism studies are often costly in money and time and difficult to implement. This paper presents a framework and formal procedure that uses geotagged photos crowdsourced from social media platforms to uncover visitor activities within national parks. First, the daily individual space-time paths are constructed from the photo geotags and timestamps for all visitors. Then the following information is derived from the space-time paths: 1) four activity types including stationary, walking, vehicle riding, and flying; 2) the total time of various visitor activities in a park; 3) visitor flow directions aggregated to a grid; 4) a graph constructed from space-time paths and the directed and undirected connections (flows) between POIs; and 5) the centrality of POIs derived from the graph. A case study of four highly visited U.S. national park units from 2008 to 2021 demonstrates the process and capabilities of the method. It also reveals a trend of increased walking time and decreased stationary time in the case study parks over the years. Although this study is only based on Flickr photos, the method can be implemented with data derived from any social media platforms as long as geotags and timestamps are available. The method may be used to monitor visitor activities and movements within national parks and other outdoor recreation areas, especially remote and unmonitored locations.

Percepção de saúde, qualidade de vida e capacidade funcional em adultos e idosos pós-internação hospitalar em função de complicações da COVID-19 - estudo longitudinal com follow-up de seis meses

ABSTRACT The study aims to evaluate the perception of health, quality of life and functional capacity during six months after COVID-19-related hospitalization. This is a prospective longitudinal study carried out at Universidade São Judas Tadeu (USJT) in partnership with the Instituto Ânima Brasil. Thirteen adult participants, including young and older adults, were evaluated, had a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and were hospitalized. A characterization and interdisciplinary questionnaire built by the researchers was used to assess health perception, quality of life, and functional capacity of participants. In this study, participants were followed for a 6-month period and the main results obtained were: the identification of a significant increase in walking time after three months (p=0.002) as well as an improvement in the perception of quality of life (p=0.002). In addition, the levels of tiredness and physical activity were evaluated; the mean responses were “little tired” and “irregularly active,” respectively, and remained unchanged over six months. Considering that patients who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 showed a reduction in the perception of quality of life and walking time soon after the hospital period, it was identified that over time they tend to improve these perceptions.

Development of an Android Mobile Application for Reducing Sitting Time and Increasing Walking Time in People with Type 2 Diabetes

Breaking up prolonged sitting with short bouts of light physical activity including standing and walking has been shown to be beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This paper presents the development of an android mobile app to deliver a just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) to reduce sedentary time in people with T2D. A total of six design workshops were conducted with seven experts to identify design requirements, a behavioural framework, and required contextual adaptations for the development of a bespoke mobile app (iMOVE). Moreover, a focus group was conducted among people with T2D as potential end-users (N = 10) to ascertain their perceptions of the app. Feedback from the focus group was used in subsequent iterations of the iMOVE app. Data were analysed using an inductive qualitative thematic analysis. Based on workshops, key features of iMOVE were developed, including simplicity (e.g., navigation, login), colours and font sizes, push notifications, messaging algorithms, and a triggering system for breaking up sitting time and moving more. Based on the user testing results, a goal-setting tab was added, font sizes were made larger, the brightness of colours was reduced, and a colour indicator was used to indicate device connectivity with an activity tracker. A user-centric app was developed to support people with T2D to transition from sedentary to active lifestyles.

Two-Year Effectiveness of a Controlled Trial With Physically Active Lessons on Behavioral Indicators of School Children

ABSTRACT Purpose: In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of two years of an intervention with physically active lessons on indicators of sedentary behavior and physical activity measured objectively in elementary school children. Methods: A controlled clinical trial with cluster sampling was carried out in 2018 and 2019, with four classes of children in the 2nd year of elementary school. The intervention group classes received dynamic activities linked to the pedagogical content (n = 34) for 2 years. The indicators of sedentary behavior and physical activities were evaluated using ActivPal and ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers during the school shift. Crude and adjusted models of Generalized Estimation Equations with Bonferroni’s post hoc were used to identify the differences between the groups (three evaluations in 2018 and two evaluations in 2019). Results: There was a reduction in stationary behavior (p = .01) and an increase in light physical activity (p = .044) during the two years. In the first year there were reductions in standing time (p = .044) and number of transitions (p ≤ .001), and an increase in walking time (p = .017). However, in the second year, the mean differences in percentage points were smaller than in the first year. No differences were found for sitting time as well as for moderate and vigorous physical activity. We observed a large effect size for all variables. Conclusions: The introduction of physically active lessons in the classroom reduced time in stationary behavior and increased time in light physical activity. However, the effects on behavior observed in the first year were not maintained in the second year of intervention.

Social participation and change in walking time among older adults: a 3-year longitudinal study from the JAGES

BackgroundAmong all physical activities, walking is one of the easiest and most economical activities for older adults’ mental and physical health. Although promoting social participation may extend the walking time of older adults, the longitudinal relationship is not well understood. Thus, this study elucidates the relationship between nine types of social participation and change in walking time during a 3-year follow-up of older adults.MethodsWe conducted a 3-year community-based longitudinal study of independent older adults in Japan. From the 2016 and 2019 surveys, we extracted 57,042 individuals. We performed multiple regression analyses, estimating associations between change in walking time after three years and nine types of social participation in 2016: volunteer, sports, hobby, senior, neighborhood, learning, health, skills, and paid work. We conducted subgroup analysis stratified by walking time in 2016 (i.e., < 60 or ≥ 60 min/day).ResultsThe mean (standard deviation) change in walking time for 3 years was − 4.04 (29.4) min/day. After adjusting potential confounders, the significant predictors of increasing or maintaining walking time (min/day) were participation in paid work (+ 3.02) in the < 60 min/day subgroup; and volunteer (+ 2.15), sports (+ 2.89), hobby (+ 1.71), senior (+ 1.27), neighborhood (+ 1.70), learning (+ 1.65), health (+ 1.74), and skills (+ 1.95) in the ≥ 60 min/day subgroup compared with non-participants.ConclusionsPaid work and community activities may be effective for maintaining or increasing walking time among older adults with less (< 60 min/day) and sufficient (≥ 60 min/day) walking time, respectively.

Analgesic Effect of Boiogito, a Japanese Traditional Kampo Medicine, on Post-Traumatic Knee Osteoarthritis through Inhibition of ERK1/2 Phosphorylation in the Dorsal Horn of the Spinal Cord

Boiogito (BO), a Japanese traditional herbal medicine, has been proven to be clinically effective against knee osteoarthritis (KOA)-associated pain. However, the therapeutic mechanism of BO remains unclear. Thus, we investigated the analgesic mechanism of BO using a rat KOA model. KOA was induced by destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM). Rats were allocated into the following four groups: control, sham, DMM, and DMM + BO groups. Rotarod test was performed to evaluate the pain-related locomotive dysfunction. Expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (pERK1/2) in the spinal dorsal horn was examined using immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting on days 1 and 28 after DMM surgery. A mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor, U0126, was intrathecally injected and rotarod test and Western blotting were performed. The rotarod test revealed hampered locomotive function in the DMM group, which was significantly improved upon BO administration. The number of pERK1/2-positive cells was increased in the DMM group, whereas it was significantly decreased in the DMM + BO group. U0126 significantly inhibited ERK1/2 phosphorylation and increased walking time in the rotarod test, suggesting that the DMM-related pain was associated with ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the spinal dorsal horn. In conclusion, BO administration improved the pain-related locomotive dysfunction by suppressing ERK1/2 phosphorylation.

Behavioral patterns of yaks (Bos grunniens) grazing on alpine shrub meadows of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Proliferation of shrubs at the expense of native forage in pastures has been associated with large changes in biomass and spatial distribution of forage for grazing livestock, and such changes influence the grazing behavior of ruminants. However, little information is available concerning the effect of pastoral shrub coverage on grazing pattern. To better understand the grazing behavior of yaks and their response to increased shrub coverage in alpine meadows, 48 yak steers were randomly assigned to four pastures with shrub coverage of 0, 5.4 %, 11.3 %, and 20.1 % (referred to as control, low, middle, and high, respectively) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The primary behavioral patterns (grazing, walking, and ruminating/resting) of three focus animals per experimental group were recorded repeatedly in scan sampling every 10 min from 07:00 to 19:00 h in three observation periods (the first 10 days of each month) from July through September. Furthermore, the secondary behavioral patterns (bites per minute, steps per minute, and bites per step) were observed 15 times per focus yak on each observation day. Behavioral observations showed that yaks had similar diurnal behavioral patterns with two main grazing bouts—in the morning and afternoon—and a ruminating/resting peak at midday when grazing in pastures with different shrub coverage. However, yaks significantly enhanced the time allocated to walking (P = 0.029) and decreased ruminating/resting time (P = 0.045) with increasing shrub coverage, although the grazing time was not significantly different (P = 0.663). Compared with the control and low shrub-coverage groups, yaks in the middle and high groups had more bites per minute (P = 0.036) and steps per minute (P = 0.029), whereas the number of bites per step was not influenced (P = 0.877) by shrub coverage. The increased time allocated to walking at the expense of ruminating/resting as well as the high number of feeding stations may be an adaptive strategy for searching and obtaining sufficient forage resources. Increased walking time and step rate for the yaks grazing in the high shrub-coverage pasture could increase the energy expenditure and consequently reduce the energy available for growth and production. Our findings provide evidence for the influence of shrub coverage on grazing behavior of yaks grazing in alpine meadows as well as insights into the sustainable production of grazing yaks on lands with increasing shrub coverage on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Objective measurement of physical activity in a random sample of Saint-Petersburg inhabitants

Background: World Health Organization (WHO) experts listed physical inactivity in leading risk factors for global mortality. Current research shows that only objective measurement of physical activity may provide accurate information on this parameter. The aim of our study was to assess the 7-day physical activity monitoring using triaxial accelerometers in a random sample of Saint-Petersburg inhabitants. Material and methods: As a part of all-Russian epidemiology survey ESSE-RF there was involved random sampling of 1600 Saint-Petersburg inhabitants (25–65 years) stratified by age and sex. After that a random sub-population of 100 subjects was selected. All subjects filled in questionnaire regarding physical activity, occupation, education and nutrition. Anthropometry (weight, height with body-mass index calculation, waist circumference) was performed. Actigraph GT3X+ (Actigraph LLC, USA) accelerometer and physical activity diary were used in order to evaluate physical activity monitoring for 7 days. Adequate levels of physical activity (PA) were defined as more than 10 000 steps/day and at least 150 minutes/week of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in bouts of 10 minutes or more. Results: 1/2 of subjects were physically active according to steps, and 1/3 according to MVPA time criteria. No gender, occupation or body composition differences were revealed in physically active and inactive subjects. Almost 50% of physically active subjects had balanced workweek-weekend PA profile, and the same criterion is true only for 13% of subjects in inactive group. In both groups the same peaks of MVPA were revealed — at 8.00–9.00 and 18.00–19.00, which are typical transportation time, but in active group these peaks were significantly higher. According to PA diaries, in most of cases physical inactivity was related to the usage of private or public transport. Conclusion: Triaxial PA-monitoring shows, that 40–60% of subjects were physically inactive, and 150-min MVPA goal can easily be achieved by only increasing walking time during transportation peaks. The physical inactivity was not determined by the type of occupation, sex or age, instead it was mainly influenced by the usage of cars in the morning and evening transportation time, rather than walking.

Empirical Findings from an Ascending Stair Evacuation Exercise in a Subway Station

Crowd simulations have proven to be a valuable numerical tool for evacuation analysis. There is series of research and empirical evacuation studies for infrastructures and buildings. In contrast to research on evacuation via descending stairs, little attention has been given to ascending stairs, but they are an important criterion, especially in subway stations with high passenger frequencies. In this paper, we present the findings from an evacuation exercise in a subway station with long ascending stairs. The empirical findings showed an increasing walking time on the ascending stairs during evacuation. Also, the flow rate differs with higher flow rates at the beginning of the stairs and lower values at the end of the stairs. The mechanism behind these results has still to be investigated, but the findings already provide an interesting basis for modelling and validating evacuation simulations over long ascending stairs.

Association Between Walking, Sedentary Behavior, and Weight Changes of Female University Employees Who Were Overweight or Obese

Abstract Objectives Increased physical activity and decreased sedentary time are associated with reduced risk of cardiometabolic disease. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between changes in weight, and walking and sitting time of female employees with overweight or obesity enrolled in a university-based worksite wellness program (WWP). Methods This was a secondary analysis of existing data from the WWP. Descriptive statistics, paired sample t-tests, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze data from 163 female participants. When comparing participants who lost weight and gained weight, the associations between the changes in walking and sitting times from baseline to 26 weeks post-intervention were analyzed. Results Participants’ mean age was 49.16 ± 10.84 years; 46.60% (n = 76) were white, non-Hispanic (n = 76). Of the 64.40% (n = 105) who lost weight, mean weight loss = 4.11 ± 8.44 pounds after 26 weeks. Those who lost weight increased total walking time by 37.79 minutes/week while the weight gain group (n = 54) decreased total walking time by 52.03 minutes/week (P = 0.01). Those who lost weight decreased sitting time by twice as much (–54.4 vs −23.0 minutes/day, P = 0.11) and increased total moderate-vigorous physical activity time by more than 8 times compared to participants who gained weight (+35.0 vs −4.4 minutes/week, P = 0.07). Conclusions In this sample of female university employees who completed 26 weeks of a WWP, those who lost weight had greater increases in walking time and moderate-vigorous physical activity time and decreases in sitting time compared to those who gained weight. The clinical relevance of the results support the need for prospective research with a larger sample size and objective measures of physical activity is needed to explore the clinical effect of reducing sitting time and engaging in higher intensity physical activity on weight change. Funding Sources Rutgers School of Health Professions Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences.

Errata: Effectiveness of walking point projects with incentives for walking time, physical function, and depression among older people: inverse probability of treatment weighting using propensity scores

Objectives This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a walking point project with incentives for increasing walking time, preventing the decline of physical function and worsening depression among older adults.Methods We used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, which included subjects aged ≥65 years who lived in City in 2013 and 2016. We obtained information on the subjects' participation in the Yokohama Walking Point (YWP), a program launched by City in 2014, from the 2016 survey data. We excluded individuals with missing data for sex, age, walking time per day (<30, 30-59, 60-89, or ≥90 min/day), physical function (5 physical function category items on the Kihon Checklist), depression (15-item Geriatric Depression Scale), and participation status in the YWP. We used data from 4,509 eligible respondents. Changes in walking time, physical function, and depression were designated as independent variables, and participation status in the YWP was designated as the dependent variable in the multiple regression analysis with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), after adjusting for demographic variables, socioeconomic status, health status, and behavior.Results Among the total subjects, 758 (16.8%) participated in the YWP. The IPTW method showed that participants in the YWP had significantly higher walking times (B=3.61, 95% CI: 1.04, 6.17), less decline in physical function, and less depression (B=-0.13, 95% CI: -0.23, -0.03; B=-0.21, 95% CI: -0.42, -0.01) than those who did not participate in the YWP.Conclusions Our findings suggest that the YWP, with incentives, effectively increased walking time and prevented worsening of physical function and depression among older adults. The municipality's health point project, based on the number of steps, is a useful population approach for promoting health among older adults.

Effectiveness of walking point projects with incentives for walking time, physical function, and depression among older people: inverse probability of treatment weighting using propensity scores

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a walking point project with incentives for increasing walking time, preventing the decline of physical function and worsening depression among older adults. Methods: We used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, which included subjects aged ≥65 years who lived in Yokohama City in 2013 and 2016. We obtained information on the subjects' participation in the "Yokohama Walking Point (YWP)," a program launched by Yokohama City in 2014, from the 2016 survey data. We excluded individuals with missing data for sex, age, walking time per day (<30, 30-59, 60-89, or ≥90 min/day), physical function (5 physical function category items on the Kihon Checklist), depression (15-item Geriatric Depression Scale), and participation status in the YWP. We used data from 4,509 eligible respondents. Changes in walking time, physical function, and depression were designated as dependent variables, and participation status in the YWP was designated as the independent variable in the multiple regression analysis with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), after adjusting for demographic variables, socioeconomic status, health status, and behavior. Results: Among the total subjects, 758 (16.8%) participated in the YWP. The IPTW method showed that participants in the YWP had significantly higher walking times (B=3.61, 95% CI: 1.04, 6.17), less decline in physical function, and less depression (B=-0.13, 95% CI: -0.23, -0.03; B=-0.21, 95% CI: -0.42, -0.01) than those who did not participate in the YWP. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the YWP, with incentives, effectively increased walking time and prevented worsening of physical function and depression among older adults. The municipality's health point project, based on the number of steps, is a useful population approach for promoting health among older adults.