Multi-Component Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Japanese Office Workers: A Single-Arm Feasibility Study

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 15;19(24):16859. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416859.

Abstract

This study investigated the feasibility of a multi-component intervention to promote physical activity (PA) among Japanese office workers. It was an 8-week single-arm trial conducted in Japan in 2021, in which 76 employees aged 20 or older, from an insurance company, participated. They received a multi-component PA intervention that comprised individual (lecture, print material, goal setting, and feedback), socio-cultural (team building and supportive atmosphere), physical (poster), and organizational (encouraging message from an executive) strategies. The primary outcome was change in objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). A paired t-test was used to compare the changes between weeks 0 and 8. We also conducted a subdomain analysis of PA divided into four domains (working, non-working, commuting working, and remote working). Excluding 26 participants who could not complete valid assessments, the MVPA among participants (n = 50, age 49.6 ± 9.7) significantly increased by +7.3 min/day [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8 to 13.8]. We also identified significant changes in MVPA by +10.0 min/day [95% CI, 3.7 to 16.3] in working days (n = 40), and by +7.1 min/day [95% CI, 0.4 to 13.7] in remote working days (n = 34). We demonstrated that multi-component PA interventions might improve MVPA among Japanese office workers.

Keywords: behavioral research; exercise; health promotion; occupational health; workplace.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • East Asian People*
  • Exercise
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Health Promotion
  • Humans
  • Workplace*

Grants and funding

This study was based on a collaborative research agreement between the University of Tsukuba Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences and MS&AD InterRisk Research & Consulting, Inc., and supported in part by JST SPRING (JPMJSP2124) and the Advanced Research Initiative for Human High Performance (ARIHHP), University of Tsukuba.