The purpose of this study was to investigate the life styles and physical activities of senior high school and technical college students in a snowy region both in snowfall and non-snowfall season. Questionnaires on the life style and physical activity were sent to 1675 students in Hokkaido.
The following results were obtained.
1) The students went to bed and got up earlier during snowfall season than during non-snowfall season. However, the hours of sleep were almost the same in both seasons.
2) More than a half of the students attend to school in snowfall season by different way from non-snowfall season. The commuting time in snowfall season was much longer than that in non-snowfall season.
3) More than one-third of the students answered that the amount of their physical activities decreased during the snowfall season. This trend was more noticeable among students who exercised 3 or more times a week than among students who exercised less than 3 times a week.
4) For students who did not participate in sports club activities, the shoveling snow in winter was found to be effective to compensate for hypokinetic sensation exercise.
5) In snowfall season, students tend to exercise for prolonged time with low frequency and low intensity, however in non-snowfall season they tend to exercise for shorter time with high frequency and high intensity.
