WA more active since daylight saving
Western Australians have been more physically active since the introduction of daylight saving, according to the latest results released by the Department of Health.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Towler said the introduction of daylight saving last December had provided WA Health with a unique opportunity to study its effect on exercise trends across the State.
“The study showed that men and women from the ages of 16 to 64 had increased the time they spent exercising since daylight saving was introduced,” he said.
“Men did an average of 81 more minutes of physical activity in their leisure time each week, while women did an average of 38 minutes more.”
The results are from the WA Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System (HWSS), which is a continuous data collection system that began in 2002 and surveys more than 6,500 West Australians of all ages each year. The HWSS collects information on a wide range of health related issues, including physical activity.
Respondents between the ages of 16 and 64 have been asked additional questions about when and where they exercised since daylight saving was introduced.
Dr Towler said the study found a significant increase in the amount of time spent doing physical activity during daylight saving months in the first year of the trial, from December 2006 to March 2007, compared with the same months in the previous two years.
The study also considered what factors were associated with physical activity and found that daylight saving had the greatest impact on the weekly time spent doing physical activity among young men, those who were not overweight or obese and people who had a relatively high socioeconomic status.
Results showed no significant increase in the number of times people exercised each week during day light saving. Regardless of day light saving, people were physically active on average six times a week for at least ten minutes.
There was no significant difference in the number of people who exercised in the morning or during the day.
“Physical activity helps prevent many chronic conditions such as heart disease and non-insulin dependent diabetes and is a major factor in improving health,” Dr Towler said.
Dr Towler said the research had been presented in Rome this week at the 5th International Health Conference of Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance and would be used for further evaluation about the effects of daylight saving on physical activity.
The research can been found at www.health.wa.gov.au/publications/pop_surveys.cfm
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