Every 1,000 steps matter : incremental reductions in metabolic syndrome risk in Japanese office workers
(2025) In Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome 17(1).- Abstract
Background: Several studies have investigated the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and physical activity (PA). However, further research is needed using objective measures of PA in free-living conditions, while also accounting for the time-variant nature of MetS. This study aimed to: (1) investigate the association between wearable device-measured step count and 5-year MetS incidence in generally healthy Japanese participants, using annual health check-up (AHC) data and interval-censored survival analysis; and (2) assess the current, and recently revised, reference value (8,000 steps/day) of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and (3) investigate the possibility of non-linear associations between daily... (More)
Background: Several studies have investigated the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and physical activity (PA). However, further research is needed using objective measures of PA in free-living conditions, while also accounting for the time-variant nature of MetS. This study aimed to: (1) investigate the association between wearable device-measured step count and 5-year MetS incidence in generally healthy Japanese participants, using annual health check-up (AHC) data and interval-censored survival analysis; and (2) assess the current, and recently revised, reference value (8,000 steps/day) of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and (3) investigate the possibility of non-linear associations between daily step count and MetS. Methods: This longitudinal prospective observation study identified average daily step count per year/person as the main exposure, and MetS incidence, defined according to Japanese guidelines, as the main outcome. The main analysis included 730 participants without MetS or pre-MetS at baseline. An interval-censored Cox model was applied to assess MetS incidence using time-to-event data. Results: Every 1,000 steps added to the average step count was significantly and inversely associated with incident MetS in adjusted models [Model 1: HR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.00; Model 2: HR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.83, 0.99] (p < 0.05). The current reference value (8,000 steps/day) also indicated a significant inverse association [Model 1: HR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.71; Model 2: HR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.61] (p < 0.01). Higher daily step counts lowered the risk of MetS incidence according to the amount of steps up to a step count of 12,000, however, the dose-response effect was attenuated beyond 12,000 steps/day. Conclusions: Each additional 1,000 daily steps was associated with a 9% reduction in the risk of developing MetS among healthy participants. The reference value (8,000 steps/day) was associated with a 74% reduction in MetS risk.
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- author
- Yamaga, Yukako ; Svensson, Thomas LU ; Chung, Ung Il and Svensson, Akiko Kishi LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Incidence, Metabolic syndrome, Physical activity, Prospective, Step count, Wearable device
- in
- Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome
- volume
- 17
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 281
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105011050940
- pmid:40682195
- ISSN
- 1758-5996
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13098-025-01816-3
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.
- id
- e46890b9-db46-4e62-8800-b0027437c1a9
- date added to LUP
- 2025-07-30 07:46:32
- date last changed
- 2025-07-31 03:00:09
@article{e46890b9-db46-4e62-8800-b0027437c1a9,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Several studies have investigated the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and physical activity (PA). However, further research is needed using objective measures of PA in free-living conditions, while also accounting for the time-variant nature of MetS. This study aimed to: (1) investigate the association between wearable device-measured step count and 5-year MetS incidence in generally healthy Japanese participants, using annual health check-up (AHC) data and interval-censored survival analysis; and (2) assess the current, and recently revised, reference value (8,000 steps/day) of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and (3) investigate the possibility of non-linear associations between daily step count and MetS. Methods: This longitudinal prospective observation study identified average daily step count per year/person as the main exposure, and MetS incidence, defined according to Japanese guidelines, as the main outcome. The main analysis included 730 participants without MetS or pre-MetS at baseline. An interval-censored Cox model was applied to assess MetS incidence using time-to-event data. Results: Every 1,000 steps added to the average step count was significantly and inversely associated with incident MetS in adjusted models [Model 1: HR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.00; Model 2: HR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.83, 0.99] (p < 0.05). The current reference value (8,000 steps/day) also indicated a significant inverse association [Model 1: HR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.71; Model 2: HR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.61] (p < 0.01). Higher daily step counts lowered the risk of MetS incidence according to the amount of steps up to a step count of 12,000, however, the dose-response effect was attenuated beyond 12,000 steps/day. Conclusions: Each additional 1,000 daily steps was associated with a 9% reduction in the risk of developing MetS among healthy participants. The reference value (8,000 steps/day) was associated with a 74% reduction in MetS risk.</p>}},
author = {{Yamaga, Yukako and Svensson, Thomas and Chung, Ung Il and Svensson, Akiko Kishi}},
issn = {{1758-5996}},
keywords = {{Incidence; Metabolic syndrome; Physical activity; Prospective; Step count; Wearable device}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome}},
title = {{Every 1,000 steps matter : incremental reductions in metabolic syndrome risk in Japanese office workers}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13098-025-01816-3}},
doi = {{10.1186/s13098-025-01816-3}},
volume = {{17}},
year = {{2025}},
}