Associations of various exercise types with self-rated health status: A secondary analysis of Sports-Life Data 2012

Abstract

This study investigated the association between exercise type and self-rated health (SRH) in Japanese adults. A secondary data analysis was performed on the results of a cross-sectional study of 2,000 Japanese adults (20 years or older) who responded to the National Sports-Life Survey in 2012. The most-frequently practiced exercises were classified into five categories: simple movement without exercise equipment, complex movement without exercise equipment, non-confrontational movement with exercise equipment, confrontational movement with exercise equipment, and synchronous movement with exercise equipment. A logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between exercise type and poor SRH. Results showed that 1,459 (74.7%) participants enjoyed exercises or sports at least once in the past year, and 469 (24.0%), 32.9% non-exercisers vs. 21.2% exercisers, rated their health as fair or poor. Compared with simple movement without exercise equipment, the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for poor SRH were significantly higher for non-exercisers (1.98, 95% CI: 1.37-2.87) and significantly lower for confrontational movement with exercise equipment (0.61, 95% CI: 0.38-0.96) after adjusting for confounders. This study suggests that exercise type was associated with SRH. Exercisers participating in confrontational movement with exercise equipment indicated better SRH.