Abstract
The 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake had a significant effect on the lifestyle of the Japanese adolescents. It can be speculated that, in particular, physical activities of victims in the submerged coastal areas have reduced. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to compare the amount of physical activity half a year later from the Earthquake among middle school students in Onagawa (n=187), Higashi-Matsushima (n=374), and Aomori (n=399). The percentage ratio of decrease in population because of death in the Earthquake was 10%, 3%, and 0% in Onagawa, Higashi-Matsushima, and Aomori, respectively.Total of 960 students (aged 12-15 years) reported their personal and demographic characteristics and physical activities toward the end of July and October 2011. The physical activities were measured by the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey, and the time spent in a sedentary state (TS) during weekdays and weekends was reported. The results of Pearsonʼs chi-square test revealed that there was no significant difference in the ratio of activity measured by HBSC survey. However, one-way ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences in the TS during weekdays (P<0.001) and weekends (P<0.001). In a post-hoc test, the students of Onagawa demonstrated higher TS during weekdays (634±296min/day) and weekends (650±276 min/day) compared with the students of Higashi-Matsushima (weekdays,553±249 min/day ; weekends, 591±264 min/day) and Aomori (weekdays, 459±304 min/day ; weekends,552±305 min/day). Compared with students of Aomori, those of Higashi-Matsushima had higher TS during weekdays only. Our findings indicate that TS during weekdays and weekends by adolescents in damaged areas such as Onagawa and Higashi-Matsushima possibly increased as a consequence of the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake.
